


Fic Blast! The Safe for Work Edition!

by c00kie



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Future Fic, Romance, Triplets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-04
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2018-04-13 00:07:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 87
Words: 48,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4500105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/c00kie/pseuds/c00kie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of  drabbles and short fic from Tumblr!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Stay Together

In which Ann's upstairs neighbors keep her up at night.

It’s nine thirty and Ann hasn’t lived in her new apartment for even ten hours yet when she hears music coming from the apartment above hers. She squeezes her eyes shut, hoping that if she tries hard enough, she can just ignore it and go to sleep. She has an early shift-is The Cure? She’s pretty sure That’s the Cure. 

The are footsteps and it’s not long before she can picture two faceless people dancing. She imagines, based on the way their feet hit the floor, a man and a small woman. She pictures the man spinning the woman, who giggles. 

Ann waits for the music to stop. It doesn’t, but the dancing stops. Before Ann can mutter a “Thank God,” the voices start. Low, too low to make out the words, but they sound romantic. 

And it’s definitely a man and a woman. 

Ann gets less than five hours of sleep thanks to them. For someone with a desk job that might be okay, but for Ann, it’s not enough. Not for someone whose job requires actual brain power. 

She’s waiting for the elevator to come, too tired to take the stairs when she hears the man waiting for the elevator next to her start humming “Just Like Heaven.” She spins toward him. “Are you the person who lives above me?” 

He blinks. “Um sorry?” 

“I live in 306.” 

The man makes a face. “Oh, I guess so.” 

“Yeah, well you and your girlfriend kept me up last night.”

He tilts his head just as the doors open. “We went to bed at eleven.” 

“Well I’m a nurse and i had to work at four,” Ann says, pushing the number three. He reaches and pushes the four. 

The elevator stops at her floor. As she’s getting off, she hears the man say, “We’ll keep it down.” 

That night, she’s lying in her bed when Ann hears music again. Tom Petty this time. But then she hears the man say, “We’ve gotta keep it down. Our downstairs neighbor is a nurse. We kept her up.” 

“Oh no!” Ann has no idea why she can hear them clearly tonight. “Should I make her brownies?” 

The man laughs and Ann’s pretty sure he’s tickling his girlfriend because she starts cackling. 

Ann sighs. So much for keeping it down. 

The next day Ann invests in earplugs, but that only makes her miss her alarm. She’s not late to work, but she has to rush an she misses breakfast. 

Also, she finds a plate of brownies in front of her door, along with an eight page letter that she skims until she reaches the end, where she sees the names Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt written in the same neat cursive. 

At least she knows their names now. 

Ann never sees Leslie. She’s sure she has, either in the building’s gym or as one of them enters or leaves, but she has yet to meet this mysterious Leslie Knope. 

But Ann will say this much for her. She makes amazing brownies. 

One night she hears Al Green. The dancing is slow, just a gentle rise and fall of feet. Their voices are soft again, but there’s something about it that makes Ann miss being with someone. 

She sees Ben on Saturday at the grocery store off all places, in front of her in the only open lane.He’s wearing a hoodie, his iPod earbuds in his ears. He’s humming along through. There’s a buzz and he pulls his phone out of his pocket. “Hey, babe.” 

Ann doesn’t want to listen to the conversation, but she has a cart full of groceries she desperately needs. Also, she’s curious. 

“Yeah, I’m getting the beer now. Wait what? Oh.Right. Okay well if she’s home. Yeah. I love you too.” He hangs up and turns to grab a water out of the cooler, startling slightly. 

“Good lord. I didn’t see you there.”

“I’m a ninja,” Ann replies. Ben just kind of smiles, but it’s the kind of smile someone makes when they’re thinking of their own private joke, and not because what you said was funny. 

“Oh well, it’s uh, kind of convenient you’re here actually. We’re having a party tonight, nothing crazy just a few friends, but we’re-Leslie, wants you to come.” 

Ann shakes her head. She wants to go, for no other reason then to meet Leslie finally and to maybe eat more of her delicious baked goods and explain to her that some people need sleep. “I have to work.” 

“Oh.” Ben shrugs. “Too bad.” 

Ann nods as Ben starts putting his things on the conveyor belt. “But hey, look n the bright side I won’t be home fro you to keep me up!” 

Ben smirks. “Right,” he says, puling his buzzing phone out of his pocket. “Hey, Chris.” 

Since it’s not Leslie, Ann doesn’t listen to this conversation. 

Time goes on in a montage of song. U2. R.E.M, David Bowie, Buddy Holly, The Spice Girls, New Kids on the Block, Simon and Garfunkel. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Alternative Bands she can’t name but somehow remembers the words to and can sing along with because she danced to hem during college parties, Phil Specter girl groups, music she doesn’t recognize but finds herself liking. 

At least they don’t listen to metal. 

But the one night, there’s no music. There’s no footsteps, no soft voices or loud cackles. In the morning, there’s only one pair of footsteps. His.

When Ann sees Ben again, his face is unshaven and his eyes are bloodshot. He says hello to her but it’s quiet and impersonal. 

He also keeps looking at his phone. 

She says nothing, just watches and waits for the elevator. Ben though, seems to get impatient because he turns and goes through the doors to the stairwell. 

Ann waits that night for the music to start. But it doesn’t. 

It’s impossible to sleep now without it. 

Whenever she sees Ben, which isn’t often these days, he always has the same expression. He doesn’t smile, doesn’t speak to anyone. He used to talk to people. Would reach down and scratch dog’s ears and tickle the toes of baby’s feet. 

Now he just stares and sometimes will look at his phone, like he’s waiting for her to call him, or to get up the nerve to call her. 

Ann wants to tell him to just man up and call Leslie already. To fix whatever is broken even if he didn’t break it. 

But it’s not her place. She’s not his friend. Or Leslie’s friend. She’d just the woman who lives below them and complains about how she can’t sleep because of their music. 

And now she’s going to complain about the lack of it? 

No. 

So she leaves Ben alone and listens to the agonizing silence above her. It’s enough that she puts most of the music they would play on her own iPod and listens to it as she falls asleep. 

One day though, she sees him and he looks ready to fall over. Her nurses instincts kick in and she follows him to his apartment. He doesn’t notice her, too far gone to care about his surroundings. 

He closes the door and she starts knocking. 

She knocks for ten minutes, shouting at him to open the door already. He does, answering the door with no shirt on. 

“What?” 

“Can I come in?” 

He makes a hand wave motion to say ‘who cares’ and he turns and walks away, putting on his shirt. Their apartment looks exactly like hers, only the cabinets are beige and hers are black. 

He sits on the couch and turns on the TV. Ann doubts he even knows what he’s watching. 

She sits in the empty chair. They have a nice place. But half of it’s in boxes and there’s empty beer bottles that have already left rings on the coffee table. Somehow, it doesn’t seem like Ben. 

Ann waits. She’s off for the next two days, she can wait. 

“She left.” 

Okay, that wasn’t long. 

“Why?” 

Ben’s laugh is hollow. “Probably because I told her too.” 

“But, you seemed happy.” It’s the worst thing to say, Ann knows this, and Ben’s glare confirms it. 

“We were,” he says, though it’s more of a snarl. “But then…” He shakes his head. “Have you ever been in love?” 

Ann’s had boyfriends. She’s felt romantic attachment. But the kind of love she heard night after night? No, she’s never felt that. “No.” 

“Well sometimes it’s not enough. Sometimes you want different things. Sometimes she has to go home to Indiana. It doesn’t matter. She’s gone. I guess you being here is a sign I should get over it and move on with my life. What are you doing Friday night?” 

Ann knows Ben’s not really asking her out. She knows this because his laptop is on and his Facebook is open and there are pictures of him and a petite blonde and in them, he’s looking at her like she’s the sun. 

“Do you have a credit card?” 

“Why? 

Ann takes the laptop, opens a new tab and types in Expedia’s url.“Because I am going to find you a cheap flight to where ever Leslie is and you’re going to go there and you are going to make up with her and bring her home.” 

She uses her nurse voice. It works because he hands her the card, saying. “It won’t work. I said-”

“It doesn’t matter what you said. Just apologize.” She breathes in sweat and body odor and beer. “And take a shower.” 

Ann has no way of knowing if it worked our not. She knows Ben left because she saw him get into the cab with a bag and can’t hear his footsteps for three days. 

Then one night she steps out of the shower and she hears it. It’s so faint that she has to actually walk to her bed to make out, but it’s there. Music. Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” to be specific. 

And she hears Ben’s voice, saying nothing in particular and a cackle follows. 

Ann’s so happy she throws on a pair of sweats and runs out the door, taking the stairs to their floor and knocks on their door. She can hear the music even clearer now. The door swings open and she sees her. Her hair is in a loose bun, her curls falling out. She’s small, in a pair of pink plaid pajamas. Behind her, Ben comes up, asking who it is before he sees her. 

“Are you Ann?” 

“Yeah, I-” 

Leslie throws her arms around her. “Thank you,” she whispers in Ann’s ear. “Thank you.” 

Ben puts his hand on her shoulder, pulling Leslie back. “Come on, babe. Let’s turn the music off and go to bed. we’re sorry we keep you up.” Leslie’s nodding frantically with him, leaning into his touch. 

“Actually,” Ann says as they start to turn away, “it’s okay. You can leave it on.” 

Leslie turns around, beaming and Ann finds herself falling in love.


	2. Unpredictable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coffee Shop AU! In which the barista knows Leslie a little too well.

“Venti hot chocolate extra chocolate extra whip,” Leslie says, to Ben only for Donna to set an already made cup in front of her. “Wait, how did you make it so fast?”

“We saw you coming in,” Ben says, taking Leslie’s debit card. 

“And you just assumed to know what I wanted?” she asks, narrowing her chin and glaring at him. He just smiles back. It’s infuriating. He’s infuriating. 

“It’s your winter drink. Everyone knows that,” Donna chimes in as she cleans the cappuccino machine.

“Yeah but, I could have wanted a coffee or tea." 

"You could,” Ben agrees, handing Leslie the receipt to sign, “but you didn’t.”

Okay, so she didn’t but it’s the principle of the thing. “Yeah, well.” She takes her card from him and puts it back into her wallet. “You shouldn’t just assume.”

“You shouldn’t be so predictable.”

“I am not. Just for that I am going to be completely unpredictable and order a scone to go.”

He shrugs and opens the display case.“Chocolate, right?”

“Nope. Maple.” She doesn’t actually like maple scones but she’ll just give it to Ann. What Ben doesn’t know won’t hurt him or his cute butt. 

Ben stares at her, his lips twitching. “Wow. You totally got me. That was unpredictable. Since you’re feeling so adventurous, is there anything else I can get you? Carrot cake? Cheese Danish? Low fat brownie?" 

"Ugh.” Leslie makes a face at her three least favorite desserts. “Just give me the freaking scone." 

It’s as Leslie’s pushing the door open to leave that she hears Ben call her name. She turns back. "Yeah?”

“Tell Ann I said I hope she enjoys her scone." 

"Oh bite me,” she says, hearing Ben’s laughter as she walks out the door.


	3. Courtship Rituals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ben and Leslie are octopuses. Octopus porn!

Ben swam in front of Leslie, rapidly changing colors, from his usual browns to green to blue to yellow to green to red, all blending and morphing, the light hitting him to create lines on his body as he did his best to court her. 

She swam closer, reaching out with her front tentacles to touch his, twisting them together and coming closer, their foreheads bumping as she opened her mantle to receive his spermatophore.


	4. Good Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Octopus AU, part two!

Light from the sun broke through the water, waking Leslie up from her slumber. Opening her eyes she stretched out her tentacles one by one, releasing herself from her rock. Next to her Ben slept on, camouflaged in the green and blue algae. She reached out and ran a tentacle over the back of his head. She was lucky he came to Pawnee reef, because even though he wasn’t the biggest octopus, he was certainly the smartest and cutest. 

“Wake up!”

“Can’t,” Ben said, “Andy and April kept me up all night.”

Leslie sighed. She loved April and Andy, but they did tend to get a little loud, not to mention messy, if the ink splatters along the life rock were any indication. “Don’t they know that’s for defense?”

“I don’t think they care,” Ben said, coming off the rock, his body quickly turning various shades of brown and red to match the rocky terrain. They ran their suctions along each other’s arms, twisting and spiraling around until Ben pulled back. "C’mon, let’s go find something to eat.“

They swam together, side by side to the edge of the reef where the crabs and clams were most abundant, passing by Ron who had built a fence along his cave with urchins and Cary Grant, who tipped his seaweed fedora toward Leslie and bid them a good day.

It was going to be a good day.


	5. Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leslie makes Ben see things from a different angle. Teenager au

“What are you doing?” Ben asks, coming up to Leslie while she hangs upside down from the monkey bars.

“I wanted to see to world from a different perspective,” she answers. “You should join me.”

“Um-”

“Come on,” she says, reaching for his hand, fingers brushing his skin. Because he can’t say no to her, hasn’t since they were six and met in Mrs. Hanson’s first grade class, he jumps up, grabbing the bars with his hands before folding his body to replace hands with feet, all of the blood rushing to his head, making him slightly dizzy. 

But he’s nose to nose with her, so it’s not all bad.

“See? It’s just like when we were kids.”

It’s not exactly like when they were kids. For one thing, he can touch the ground with his hand now. 

“We look silly,” he says, but she grins and grabs his face, quickly pressing her lips to his before jumping down to the ground. 

“No you look silly,” she says, running away. 

He jumps off and chases after her.


	6. The Skating RInk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All the kids spend Friday nights at the skating rink from six thirty to eleven and Leslie and her friends are no exceptions.

All the kids spend Friday nights at the skating rink from six thirty to eleven and Leslie and her friends are no exceptions. Because it’s the go to hangout for kids her age and a little older, families and little kids rarely stay for very long. The lights are always a little darker, the music a little louder.

Aside from skating, they talk with other kids who don’t go to the same school, they play arcade games and of course, make out. 

She’s done all three, but lately making out with boys doesn’t have the same appeal it once did and she knows pretty much everyone from Pawnee (no one from Eagleton comes. They have their own rink. Which, according to rumor, has a gelato stand. Gelato. “Just eat regular ice cream, you snobs,” is what Leslie would say to them given a chance.) so lately, her focus has been on beating the high score on Ms. Pac-Man.

Her best friend Ben makes out a lot, mostly Cindy, but other girls as well. Nearly every single girl. Except her. 

She’s not jealous. Not much. Ben’s a a great best friend, his kissing habits aside. He’s funny and kind and really good at math. And sure, he’s cute and she likes him, but she’s doesn’t LIKE HIM, except she totally does. 

But if there’s one bad side to being Ben Wyatt’s best friend, it’s constantly being asked if he has a girlfriend.

“No,” she says bluntly, “and he doesn’t want one.” It’s the truth. Ben might be the most commitment phobic fifteen year old boy in existence. 

“God this boring.” Ben groans, standing next to Leslie’, “what level are you?”

“Five,” Leslie answers, moving past a ghost. “I had to start over.”

“Ah.” Ben nods, “Well come on, it’s almost couples skate.”

“Skate with Cindy.”

“I don’t want to skate with Cindy.” Ben rolls his eyes. “Or anyone else. Come on, you know if I couple skate with Cindy she’ll think we’re actually going out.”

God what did she do to deserve Ben in her life? “Fine, but you owe me the biggest plate of waffles.”

“You got it,” Ben promises, grabbing Leslie’ hand, “Now let’s get out there before they come.”

A part of Leslie hates being Ben’s decoy, but the other half actually likes skating around with him while “Losing My Religion” plays. The glares notwithstanding. 

“Are you and Cindy ever going to become official?”

Ben gives her a look, “Official?” Ben shrugs. “I don’t think Cindy likes me that much to tell you the truth.”

Leslie furrows her brow, “Okay?”

Ben shrugs and they continue skating, Leslie pondering Cindy and Ben’s relationship, or rather, lack of one in her head. Before she can surmise why the whole thing bothers her so much, she catches Ben stare at her.

“What’s wrong?”

It’s a good question. “I’m just thinking.”

“Right,” Ben says, “Well the song’s over,” he says, and sure enough, the song has ended and Ben’s leading out of the rink and back towards Ms. Pacman. His eyes meet hers and she finds herself giving him a soft smile before he goes skating off.

She’s confronted by Cindy in the restroom. “I’m his girlfriend,” the girl says, pointing her finger in Leslie’ chest.

“You might want to tell him that,” Leslie retorts, skating past Cindy and her friends.

The confrontation goes exactly like Leslie expects it to, with Cindy yelling and waving her hands and Ben staring wide eyed and jaw slacked until Cindy’s done.

Then Ben does exactly what Leslie expects and tells Cindy he’s no longer interested in her and then skates to her.

“We’re going,” Ben tells her, “Get your shoes.”

Thank God. She hates these things. 

They sit against the building outside while they wait for Ben’s mom to pick them up. He picks at a loose thread on his jeans, saying nothing. Inside Leslie can hear the bass of the music.

She doesn’t know what’s worse. As they sit, the silence grows worse, because at first she tries to fill it, to ask him who he thinks is going to win the World Series this year, but all he says is, “I don’t care.”

And if there’s one thing Leslie knows about Ben, it’s that he cares.

So they keep waiting and Leslie keeps feeling more awkward. “Do you want me to go I could probably get-”

“You can stay.” He grabs her hand even though she hasn’t tried to stand up yet. She looks down at it, at the way his hands engulf hers and her stomach twists.

He lets go and continues to pick at his jeans. Leslie does stand up, mostly because her butt is starting to hurt. She looks at him, knowing he’s not looking at her.

Why doesn’t he see her?

The doors open and someone comes out. It’s no one they know.

He sighs and she’s had enough.

Leslie leans down and puts her lips on Ben’s. She doesn’t expect it to last longer than a few seconds, but his lips are unbelievably soft and pliant underneath hers, moving easily. It’s no wonder all the girls want to kiss Ben.

When she pulls away, Ben slowly stands to his feet, staring directly into her soul. And even though she’s standing with the parking lot to her back, she still feels like she’s trapped against the wall.

“I’m-”

“I thought you were never going to do that.”

Leslie blinks. “Huh?”

He reaches out and brushes her hair out of her eyes. “I hate this place. The only reason I come is for you.”

“You love watching girls skate!”

“I love watching you skate.”

Leslie hates it too. She’d rather sit at home and watch documentaries and scrapbook. But that doesn’t change the facts.

"You make out with other girls all the time! You make me tell them you’re not interested in having a girlfriend. You’re not interested in having a girlfriend!”

“Because I like you,” Ben says, his voice too soft and even for her comfort. Why isn’t he feeling this warm panic like she is?

“Well, you never told me!”

“Yes I did.” Leslie’s pretty sure he’s lying about that, it’s kind of hard to disagree when his tongue is exploring her teeth and she feels like she’s levitating.

Then a horn honks and they pull apart, seeing his mom’s car.

“Stop making out, we’re going for ice cream!” Stephanie yells out the front passenger side window.

“Did she say ice cream?” After the night she’s had, she deserves it.

He gives her a look, the one that says ‘you’re a goon but you’re my goon’ and laughs.

“Yeah okay.” He takes her hand and doesn’t let go.


	7. (Nothing But) Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wedding night fluff

They sit on opposite sides of the bed, taking their shoes off in unison. Neither speak, not even when Leslie turns around and crawls over the bed to wrap her arms around Ben’s neck and rest her forehead on his back. He hears the crinkle of her dress. 

He reaches up and holds her hand, closing his eyes to feel the rise and fall of her breath, feels the new ring on her finger.

In. 

Out.

In.

Out.

They’re breathing in perfect synchronicity. His hand travels up her arm, to her elbow, staying there. He can’t see her, but he knows her eyes are closed and she’s counting every breath, every beat of his heart. 

“Okay,” he says, and she lets go. He stands and turns to her, offering her his hand to lift her up, to take off her dress so they can go to bed.

Leslie takes it, raising it it to her lips. He watches her, awed at just how beautiful she is before he reaches and pulls the flower out. Leslie pulls out the rest of the pins, shaking her hair out. 

He gets to spend the rest of his life with her. “Come here,” he says and this time, she allows him to pull her from the bed. “Stay still I have to cut through he thread.”

“Okay.” He uses his grandfather’s pocket knife and carefully slices through the thread holding the dress on. When he’s done, he takes it off her and places it on the chair. 

“You’re still dressed,” she says, frowning as if him still wearing his tux offends her. He understands her frustration, but his clothes can wait. She can’t. Or rather, he can’t wait to touch her. To kiss her from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. To lose himself completely in her, for now, for the rest of their lives. 

“I know,” he says, lowering her onto the bed, kissing her until they’re both breathless “But we’ve got time.”


	8. A Royal Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Medieval Royalty Au!

“Your highness.” Leslie nodded at her servants as they bowed to her one by one, and took her seat on the thrown, bending down so Tom could place her crown on her head. She sat back up and tapped her fingers on the oak arm. She hated having to sit on her thrown, even if it had been carved by the best woodworker and sage council, Ron Swanson. She wanted to be outside, helping to make Pawnee the best kingdom in the world, only today she was stuck in doors. 

She might be stuck inside, but that didn’t mean she had to sit on her thrown all day. “Take this,” she said, handing Tom her crown. He started to protest, but she held up her hand. “I’ll put it on when they get here.”

They was the King of Partridge, his son, and his son’s chief aid. She was not looking forward to meeting them, at all. Not only did it mean having to wear that stupid crown and her stupid robes that she could barely move in, but it also meant that the alliance was coming to pass and tomorrow night, she would be marrying the Prince. 

On one hand, she knew that politically it was a good idea. Partridge was north of Pawnee and was rumored to be made entirely out of ice, though Leslie highly doubted the validity of those claims. It would provide a good defense though from potential invaders from the north. 

“Eat this,” Ann, Leslie’s handmaiden and most beautiful nurse in the world, said, handing Leslie a waffle topped with fresh whipped cream made in the kitchens. She took a bite and instantly felt better, though her stomach was still doing jumping jacks.

“When are they supposed to get here?" 

"Before dusk,” Jerry answered, bowing. Leslie glared at him, hoping he had a better answer, like on the hour or they changed their mind and are going back and the wedding is off. 

“It could be worse you know,” Tom said, interrupting Leslie’s thoughts, “You could be marrying someone from Eagleton.”

Leslie had to admit this was true. Eagleton was the kingdom that bordered Pawnee to the east and it was the worst, as were the people who lived there. 

Their Queen, Ingrid, wasn’t that bad. 

Throughout the day, Leslie tried to keep busy, singing decrees and taking meetings with her subjects, but then Jerry came in to announce that they were coming over the hell and Leslie knew this was it, this was the moment of no return. 

Naturally, this was the moment Leslie got the idea to run away.

“Where are you going?”

“No where.”

“Then why are you trying to climb through that window?”

“I wasn’t. I merely wanted to hang outside and get a fresh breeze. Oooh, wind.”

“Go let Donna freshen you up and then go wait.”

“You go wait,” Leslie said, passing Ron. She wasn’t going to go to Donna though. She went to her room and with the help of April, her other favorite handmaiden, took off her cumbersome robes and put on a more comfortable dress. If the prince was truly intent on marrying her, he was going to marry the real Leslie. 

“How do you know they aren’t going to poison you?" 

"April, they’re not going to poison me.” What if they tried to poison her? She hadn’t thought about that. 

“April,” Ann’s voice cut into their conversation, “Stop scaring her." 

"I’m not scared. What if this is an invasion?" 

"It’s not an invasion.”

“April, go find Andy and tell him to get his men ready-”

“April, don’’t do that.”

“I thought I was the Queen." 

"No, I am!" 

"April,” Leslie and Ann said together. She only shrugged. 

“Fine, I will take my chances, but if I eat something tonight and get die, I’m blaming you. No I’m sorry, you’re beautiful and I love you.”

“Okay,” Ann said, “Let’s go.”

“At least wear the crown,” Tom begged, minutes before the group from Partridge was supposed to arrive. 

“Fine,” Leslie said, as she had promised. 

“The party is here." 

Leslie took a deep breath as the three men walked in, the king first and then the prince and his manservant. All three of them were wearing similar blue and silver clothes. None of them were wearing crowns. 

She took hers off and gave it to the person standing closet to her. "Your highness.”

“Your majesty.” The kind of Partridge was intimidating and kept scowling. Leslie really hoped his son had a better disposition. “This is my son, Ben and his servant, Chris.” She looked at them, they were both tall and handsome, though the one on the right seemed to be a bit more muscular. 

“Queen Leslie.” The one on the right bowed at her and took her hand, kissing it. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Looking into his eyes was like staring into the sun. “Hi.”

The one on the left coughed. 

“Hello, I’m Queen-”

“I’m Ben." 

Leslie blinked. "What?”

“It seemed like you thought Chris was the prince so I was correcting your mistake.”

“I didn’t think that.” She did. She wasn’t going to admit it. “I was being polite. You know what that is, don’t you?”

“I’m not the one-”

“Stephen.” The room went silent as Leslie mother walked in. 

“Hi, mom.”

“Leslie.” Marlene did a double take. “You took of your robes.” She shook her head and turned to King Stephen. “It’s good to see you agian.”

“You too.” He bent his head down in respect. “I don’t think our children get along.”

“Really? From what I heard they get along very well." 

Leslie, unfortunately, understood her mother meaning all too well. "Gross." 

It was much later, after dinner and Leslie’s walk around the castle, that she came face to face again with Ben. 

"Can we start over?" 

She gave it a thought. He was a bit of a grump, but he was also cute, and she had seen his backside earlier and it was very appealing, and she did want to get along with her soon to be husband. "Sure.”

“Hello, your highness. I’m Ben.”

“I’m Leslie,” she said, giving Ben her hand to kiss. Only he took it, looked at it for a second and then pulled her up to him. She knew what was happening, she wasn’t totally innocent, she had suitors before, but the way Ben kissed her was like nothing else. It wasn’t clumsy or too dry or too wet. He knew exactly what he was doing. It made her want more. A lot more. 

She wondered what else Ben was good at. 

She found out the next night.


	9. Leslie Knope Vs Ice Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Super Hero Au!

“Are you okay,” Ice Storm asks the moment they land on the ground, his arms still locked around her waist. Leslie allows herself a minute to catch her breath and maybe to enjoy his tight body, but then she remembers the moments before and pushes him away. 

“You are a jerk.”

She can’t really see his eyes since he landed in a dark alley, but she’s pretty sure he’s blinking. “I’m sorry?”

“You heard me. You’re a jerk.”

“I just saved your life.” He sounds confused, as if he’s used to people just bowing down or sucking his dick in gratefulness. Well she isn’t grateful. She’s livid. 

“I was fine,” she says through her teeth.

“He had a knife to your throat." 

Leslie rolls her eyes. "I take tae-bo. I was about to kick his ass. You’re just sexist. I’m not a damsel in distress! I am a woman, and I’m in distress, but it’s not the same thing.”

“Are you done?” It would be a lot easier to concentrate if his voice wasn’t so sexy. 

“No. Also now I was at my building and now I’m clear across town and have to find my way home again. So thanks for that, Ice Ass.”

There’s a beat and she hears a crash in the distance. Pawnee is Leslie’s home, and she loves it, but it has it’s trouble spots. Mostly the crime. Leslie’s trying to make the city better with the power of bureaucracy, only she’s accomplishing next to nothing and then the Raccoon and his goons had to jump her and the fact that she needed to be rescued by a damn vigilante like Ice Storm makes her feel completely helpless. 

“Um, do you want me to fly you home?”

She smacks him in the chest, ignoring his wince. “Yes, I want you to fly me home!”

He wraps his arm around her tight. “Yes, Ms Knope,” he says, taking off. 

It’s not until she’s in her apartment that she realizes she never told him her name


	10. agitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Government Shutdown Era. Stuck in an elevator trope.

This wasn’t happening. She was still in her bed. This was a bad nightmare. All she had to do was turn into a bird and fly away and she would wake up and none of this would be real. 

Except, when she closes her eyes, nothing happens. She’s still in the elevator. 

With him.

“Fuck.”

He gives her a sharp look, as if her cursing offends his delicate sensibilities, but then he smiles. “Are you claustrophobic?”

“No.” She’s not. Although having the share air with him sounds really unappealing. 

He shrugs. “Well, you keep pushing the alarm. I’m pretty sure they know we’re in here.”

Leslie shakes her head. You can never be too sure. She reaches inside her purse for her phone to call for actual help, when she realizes she left her phone on her desk. 

“Do you have your phone?”

“Leslie-”

“Call Chris. Have him get Ron to fix the elevator.”

Ben rolls his eyes but he calls Chris anyway. For a moment, Leslie thinks it might mean he has some kindness in him. 

But the moment disappears when she hears the conversation. 

“Hey, did you do those spreadsheets for maintenance? Okay. Thanks.” He hangs up, puts his phone back in her pocket.

“Why didn’t you-”

“Because,” he says, “I want to talk to you.”

“Well, I don’t want to talk to you. And stop using my air. Get your own.”

He just keeps smiling. It makes her want to kick him. 

It also makes her want to kiss him. But she’s not about to admit that. 

“Look, I’m sorry I tried to fire you-”

“You tried to fire me? I knew you were a jerk-”

“But I didn’t. Your job is safe. But it means-”

“Oh just stop,” Leslie says, cutting him off before he can continue. “Aren’t you tried of always going on about cuts and percentages?”

“I like percentages,” he says, under his breath. 

Leslie sighs, unable to believe what she’s about to say. “You did a good thing with Freddy Spaghetti. The town, I, appreciated it.”

He nods and for a minute she becomes lost in his eyes, having to break the contact so she doesn’t do something stupid. 

“You need to understand though,” Ben says, “things aren’t going to be the way they were. Even when the shut down is over, your department is broke.”

Leslie stares at him, unable to think of a biting comment in response. It turns out not to matter, because the next thing she hears is the voice of someone on the other side of the doors asking if they’re alright. 

“We’re fine!” Ben shouts. “Thank you.”

She just continues to stare. She doesn’t like him. He’s a fascist hard ass. 

But he’s also cute. Very cute. Just as cute as he was when he was eighteen.

“It’s not personal,” he says, “I wish you understood that.”

The doors open. She steps out and turns around. “Yes it is.”


	11. Talking in Your Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things you said I wasn't meant to hear.- Leslie talks in her sleep.

“I’m Leslie Knope and I’m running for City Council." 

Ben stares at the back of her head, watching as she stirs in her sleep. It’s not the first time she’s ever made campaign speeches in her sleep, but it’s so specific and moving that he knows it’s not just some random dream about the future. It’s real and it’s happening now. 

It’s clarification. 

A very tiny part of him wants to wake her up and beg her to just stay with him, but running for office is her dream. He’s known that since the day he met her. 

Still, he’s not so selfless that he can just end it now. No, he decides, wrapping his arms around her and breathing her in, he’s going to wait and try to get as much of Leslie as he possibly can until he has no choice but to let her go.


	12. Just Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened at the gas station in End of the World.

Ben turns, ready to walk away from the gas station and Leslie. He’s not sure how he’s going to get home, but surely there’s a place he can call a cab near by. 

“I can drive you home,” she says, her voice rising so he can hear her. He stills and even though it’s against his instincts, he turns around.

What he sees is going to haunt him for the rest of his life. “I can drive you home,” she repeats, “Or to Tom’s party.”

“Thanks but I’ll just walk.”

“Right.” Leslie nods, understanding. “Sure. I just thought I’d offer. I don’t want you spending the last night on earth getting attacked by raccoons.”

“Well, it’s better than…” He almost says ‘being alone with you’ but he catches himself. But judging by the expression on Leslie’s face, she knew what he was going to say too. “Leslie.”

“You should leave,” she says, her voice breaking. 

“I didn’t mean-”

“Just go,” she says, “I have to go back anyway.” She walks past him to her car. “You're not too far from your house. Just go up the street and take a left and it’s about four blocks.” She gets into her car and drives off, leaving Ben alone with nothing except regret for company.


	13. Not Going Anywhere.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smallest Park Coda.

She puts a plate of blueberry pancakes in front of him, his favorite, before sitting down across from him with hers. She says nothing while she eats, and even though he’s hungry, he can’t bring himself to eat yet. 

“Leslie-”

“Are you not hungry? Or were blueberry pancakes not what you wanted? I just thought since they’re your favorite you would like them. Oh no, I should have asked. I’m so sorry. What do you want,” she stands, “eggs? omelets? I think I have some potatoes if you want like one of those skillet things." 

"Leslie, stop." 

She stills and he stands, walking over to her and wraps his arms around her. "It’s okay,” he says, rubbing her back. “I want pancakes.”

“Oh.”

“I’m sorry,” he says. If he had know the damage he made when he made the steamroller comment he never would have said it. He pulls away, keeping his hands on her shoulders. “Look at me.”

She does, a tear escaping. He brushes it off with his thumb. “I know I said somethings-”

“You were right to say them.”

“I wasn’t,” he says. He knows that it was just yesterday and things are still rather raw. “At least, not like that.”

“No, it’s fine,” she says, running her finger up and down his chest. “I just don’t want to do anything to…” she trails off, shaking her head. 

He thinks he knows and even though he thought he made it clear he wasn’t going anywhere last night, he guesses more assurance is needed. “You’re not going to lose me. There’s no where I want to be than here, eating blueberry pancakes.”

“They’re probably cold now,” she says, fully crying now. 

“That’s fine,” he says, dropping to his knees. “That’s not really what I’m hungry for anyway."


	14. Hug Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deleted scene from William Harry Harrison coda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on tumblr

“Nooooooo!” Ben continues to yell as he’s hugged by three adorable little monsters. “Leslie, help!" 

"No,” she says, giggling, “this is your punishment.” Putting vegetables in her waffles. What kind of person does that? A mean jerk, that’s who. And mean jerks deserve to be hug attacked. 

Leslie watches though, as he wraps his arm around their children, hugging them back and a little bit, a tiny bit, of her anger fades. She’s still angry, but she’s also very much enamored with him. How dare her mean jerk of a husband also be a great father and have a cute face and butt. It really isn’t fair. 

“Okay, Daddy’s had enough,” she says, going over to rescue him after a minute. They climb off him, only to throw themselves on her. 

But she wouldn’t have it any other way.


	15. Ben's Box

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gryzzlbox coda. What's inside Ben's box.

“You got a gryzzlbox, babe!” Leslie announces as she comes into the living room, carrying blue plastic box.

Ben looks at the box she sets at his feet and sighs. “Awesome.”

Leslie sits next to him, taking his arm and putting it over her shoulder. “You’re not curious?” 

“Not as much as you are, apparently,” Ben says, and Leslie shrugs, unable to deny it. He tries to stare her down, but she just stares back, unrelenting. “Fine, I’ll open it but we’re not keeping anything.”

Leslie grins and kisses his cheek, which turns into a kiss on the corner of his mouth, which turns into an actual kiss and he thinks maybe he can distract her with making out, but by the time he has his fingers on her buttons, she pushes him back. 

“Okay, open it.”

Ben growls under his breath but opens the lid, afraid that he might accidentally be opening the arc of the covenant. 

No blinding, skin melting light comes out. Instead, what he sees is much, much worse. 

“Is that what I think it is?”

“It’s a Sith paddle.”

“And a light saber cane and a flogger,” Leslie says, taking the flogger out. “Luke, I am your master-”

“Darth Vader never said Luke, I’m your father,” Ben says, before realizing he’s focused on the wrong thing and snatching the flogger out of her hand. Leslie though, just keeps laughing, as if Gryzzl sending them Star Wars sex toys is the funniest thing she can imagine. He throws it back in the box and snaps the lid closed. 

“They have gone too far.”

“Grump,” Leslie says, climbing into his lap. “You got to admit the blindfold is pretty cute.”

“Please,” Ben says, feeling her skin under the hem of her shirt, “You would totally be able to see through that.”

Her laughter wakes up the kids.


	16. Stargazing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things you said under the stars and in the grass

“So,” Leslie says, pouring the wine. “When did you start stargazing?" 

He takes his glass from her. "When Stephanie was ten, she was really into astronomy, so I learned the names of the constellations." 

"How old were you?”

“Twelve,” Ben answers, taking a sip of his wine before putting it aside. “On nights like these we would go out to our backyard and look up at the sky and try to find as many as we could. She grew out of it and I discovered girls, but I remembered them.”

“Is that so?” Leslie asks before biting into a chocolate dipped strawberry. “Did you use your skill to make out with said girls?”

“Of course,” Ben laughs. “And now I’m using it with you. Is it working?”

“That depends, prove you can actually do it.”

"Alright, c'mere.“ He raises his arm and she moves across the blanket to sit next to him. He puts his around around her shoulder and kisses her temple. "That’s Ursa Major,” he says, pointing up at the sky with his free hand. 

“That’s an easy one.”

“Okay fine. See that one right there, the one that kind of looks like tent?” he draws it out with his finger. “That’s Cepheus.”

“Was he the god of camping?”

“No idea. I said I learned their names, not what they stood for. Oh and that one, right above it, the ones that look like a weird M, that’s Cassiopeia, and just above that one is Perseus.” 

“Okay, you’ve impressed me,” she says, leaning up to kiss him. He cups her face, deepening the kiss until they fall back on the blanket, legs tangled together and hands exploring. Eventually though, the making out ends. 

“You know, I also did a lot of stargazing when I was a kid too,” Leslie says, sitting up so he follows. This time, she moves to sit between his legs. “but I just made them up.”

“Show me." 

"Okay well,” Leslie searches the sky for something. “See those two stars right there, and then those four stars in that straight line up there?” That’s Paul Revere.“

"You know one of those stars is Venus, right?”

“Really?" 

"Yeah, the really bright one." 

Leslie sighs and Ben kisses the top of her head. "Show me something else.”

“Or, we could hardcore make out for another fifteen minutes." 

"I knew it would work,” Ben says, just as Leslie straddles his lap.


	17. loneliness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben misses Leslie in DC

He waits until the last intern is out the door before he turns off his computer and leaves the office, locking the door behind him. 

When he gets to his apartment, Ben changes out of his suit and opens up a beer, drinking half of it before he looks in his fridge for something to eat. There’s a left over chicken parmesan, so he heats it up and eats it in the kitchen. 

His phone peeps. He looks at the message from Leslie. “Working late, will be home around seven. Love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” 

Ben stares at the message for a minute before replying, then he takes the rest of his beer into the living room, He turns on the TV, searches for something to watch, but there’s nothing on. He thinks about putting on a movie, but nothing sounds appealing. 

So he ends up watching CSPAN and scrolls through his phone, looking at photos of her. 

He stops at one where she’s lying on his bed, wearing his favorite plaid shirt and nothing else. 

His phone beeps again. “Going home! Skype?” 

“Yes,” he answers. He needs to see her.Even if it’s on a computer screen. He turns his computer on, signs onto 

He misses her. He misses sitting in her office at the end of a long day, waiting for her to be done. He misses going to JJ’s for dinner, misses going home and tasting every bit of her. Misses falling asleep beside her, both of them completely satisfied. 

He misses home. 

She texts again to tell him she’s taking a shower. He tells her not to get dressed. 

He always misses her. It’s easier to ignore when he’s working and he can just concentrate on the job. But now, when he’s in his apartment, full of furniture that isn’t his, he feels it even more. 

But then she appears, on her bed, skin bare and still wet. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he says, and some of the loneliness disappears. 

For now.


	18. New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Leslie visit the Grandview Hotel and Spa

Leslie’s re-reading her strategy paper again when Ben sits next to her and takes her laptop away, putting it on the coffee table.

“No work after six,” he reminds her.

“I’m just doing some last minute revisions.”

“Well, as your campaign manager-”

“You stop being my campaign manager after six.”

“And you stop being my candidate,” he says, effectively winning the argument. 

“Fine. I won’t work. But we really need-”

“It can wait until Monday.”

“Monday?” Leslie says, “but it’s Thursday. What about tomorrow?” 

Ben gives her his I have a surprise for you smile, which are usually great, but right now it just makes her nervous. “Ben?”

“I got us a room at the Grandview hotel and spa. And before you say no, just know that I have Ann on my side and she’s agreed to help me kidnap you if need be.”

It figures Ben would get Ann on his side. It also figures Ben would do something so incredibly thoughtful before the campaign really picks up, just so Leslie can have a few days to relax before the calm before the storm.

She kisses him into the couch, unable to think of any other way to show her appreciation. 

-

“Wow, you were right about those towels,” Ben says, coming out of the bathroom while Leslie bounces on the bed. She forgot how soft their mattresses are.

“Please kiss me.”

“I can do that,” he says, leaning down to brush his lips across hers. 

Soon, she forgets everything except the way his skin feels against hers. 

-

After dinner, Leslie searches for her bathing suit while Ben watches basketball on the TV. 

“You don’t have to come with me,” she says as he gets up to find his trunks. 

“And miss you wet and wearing a bikini?” he asks, “my eighteen year old self would never forgive me.”

“I though you hated your eighteen year old self.”

“He was an idiot, yes, but he was right about girls in bikini’s.”

Leslie giggles. “You know you’ve seen me naked right?”

“I don’t expect you to understand.” 

Leslie sighs. She doesn’t expect she would. 

-

The water is warm, the indoor lights bright and the smell of chlorine fills the air. It’s also empty except for them, so she can wrap her legs around his waist and not worry about how scandalous it may look. 

“You’re thinking about work.”

“No.”

“Leslie, it’s okay. I don’t expect you to just shut off your brain. I know that’s impossible.”

Leslie hums and kisses his neck, just because it’s there and she can. They’ve been back together for almost three months and yet it still feels new and fresh. 

“Did you swim with any of your other girlfriends?”

“Once. But it was more of a parent’s hot tub situation.”

“Oh.” She makes a face, not bothering to try to hide her jealousy. “So I guess that means you’ve never kissed under water.”

“No. Have you?”

“No. I want to though,” she says, slipping her legs off him. “So come on.”

Ben sighs, but follows her out to the middle of the pool. “So what we just go under and kiss?”

“That’s right.”

They count to three and go under. The water is clear and she can see everything, including Ben, who reaches for her, smiling as their lips connect. 

Then they push up together, exhaling when they reach the surface. She finds herself clinging to him, and while the kiss beneath was sweet, there’s nothing sweet about this one. 

“Room?”

“Here.” 

She sinks her teeth into his shoulder and just feels. 

-

On Friday, they spend the day at the spa, receiving mud baths and facials and massages. 

Ben passes at the acupuncture. 

-

On Saturday, they don’t leave the room at all. She spends the day being bent over and twisted into every position Ben can come up with, carried around the room, in a state of constant orgasm. 

She sleeps the whole night though. 

-

On Sunday, they pack their bags and eat breakfast together in the hotel buffet. He steals a piece of bacon from her plate. She steals a fried potato from his. And just like that, things no longer feel new or like she has to walk on tip toes, afraid she might say or do something wrong that will send him running for the hills. 

Or maybe it does feel new still, but a good new. It’s still the beginning, but one to a very long journey they’re going to take together. 

He smiles, silent confirmation for everything she’s thinking. 

They’re going to be okay.


	19. Stop Trying to Cheer Me Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hurt comfort fic

“Stop trying to cheer me up!” The words fly out of her mouth before she can stop them, and even though it’s not the worst thing she’s ever said to Ben, at the moment it feels like it is, especially when she takes in the way his face falls. “Ben-” she reaches out to touch him, and even though he doesn’t pull away, she can still feel the distance. 

“No, it’s okay. I’m sorry." 

Leslie shakes her head. “No, it’s me, I’m the one who messed up. You’re wonderful and I love you very much, I just…” 

"Want to be sad,” he finishes for her, his smile soft and understanding. “I know.” He pulls her in, wrapping his arms around her. “I just don’t like seeing you like this." 

She rests her head on his shoulder, listens to his heart beat. Minutes pass, neither speaking but Leslie can still feel her grief start to fall away. She doesn’t need waffles or corny jokes or Julia Roberts marathons. She just needs him.

"I know I said you shouldn’t try to cheer me up, but can you keep doing this?”

“Yeah,” he says, stroking the ends of her hair, “I can."


	20. What's the Worst that Can Happen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andy tries something, much to Ben's chagrin.

“What’s the worst that can happen?”

“Uh, you’ll die?” Ben says, wishing either Leslie or Ron was there to help as Andy straps on his safety helmet. 

“You should totally do it, babe,” April says glaring at Ben as if to say how dare you not support him. 

“It’s unsafe,” Ben tries, but Andy and April are making out and he knows his words are going unheeded. 

“Shut up, Ben." 

"Yeah, Ben. It’s totally good. I have on a helmet." 

Ben rolls his eyes. Well as long as Andy has his helmet on, then everything is A Ok!. 

Why does he live with these two again? Why does he even live in Pawnee? It’s not like he has any real reason to live here now that he and Leslie are over. He should just cut his losses and move back to Indianapolis. 

Oh right, because the thought of being that far away from her makes his stomach twist, even if he can’t touch or kiss her like he wants. 

He’s well aware of how stupid this is. 

He’s also aware that as Andy climbs onto the roof of their house and April throws him the sled, that he’s going to have to drive them to the hospital.


	21. Not Ready Yet (To Let You Go)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leslie has complications during birth.

It happens so fast Ben’s not sure what’s happening. One minute he’s holding her hand and telling her how great she is, and then the doctor is yelling and codes are being called and he’s being pushed out into the waiting room. 

He spends several minutes glaring at the door, as if it’s the doors fault. Eventually though, he stops glaring at the door, mostly because the nurses and orderlies are starting to side eye him. 

So he sits. And he waits. 

His phone buzzes. He reads the text from Ann, asking for an update. He thinks about telling her, but decides against it. She and Chris are already on their way, it would just make them worry. 

Besides, he doesn’t even know what to tell them. 

So he lies and says everything is fine.

Everything is fine It has to be. 

Too much time goes by. As the clock on the wall ticks away the seconds, Ben finds himself unraveling. Every scenario, every shitty movie of the week his mom would watch when he was a kid, every sad country song, every dire thing he can come up with, it’s all there, shouting for attention. He loses Leslie. He loses his children. He loses Leslie and his children. 

When the doors open and Dr. Saperstein finally walks out, Ben jumps up and runs over to him, grabbing him by his coat. 

Dr. Saperstein just smiles. “The babies are okay.” 

Ben’s so relieved to hear the babies are fine that he almost misses how he didn’t include Leslie in that sentence. “What about Leslie?” 

“There were some complications,” says Saperstein who puts his hand on Ben’s arm. “But she’s going to be fine, we just have to watch her you’ll be able to see her in a bit. For now, why don’t you go see your children, they’re on the second floor, I’ll have someone show you.” 

Someone, a nurse, a janitor, President Obama, takes Ben upstairs. He’s not really paying attention. 

He stares at them through the glass window. He knows he can go in, say hello to them in person, but it feels wrong to meet them without Leslie. 

On the way back to the waiting room, he calls Marlene. 

She shows up demanding answers and making threats. He’s sure most are empty but the nurse runs to grab Dr. Saperstein anyway. He says the same thing he told Ben, only Marlene doesn’t just let some stranger lead her away. 

Marlene stares him down until he breaks down and tells her everything. Ben listens, trying to take in all the words, searching for them on his phone but ultimately the only thing that really sticks is ,”she’s lost a lot of blood and had a small stroke.”

She lets him go, ordering him to go take care of her daughter. Then she walks over and sits next to Ben. 

“My mom had a stroke when she had my sister,” Marlene says, “Leslie’s a fighter. She’ll be fine.” 

Ben looks down at where their hands are connected. He’s not sure if she’s holding his hand for his benefit or hers, but he squeezes back. She gives him a smile and stands up. 

“I’m going to go say hi to the babies.”

Ben nods and watches her go. 

Alone again, Ben breaks down and calls Ron. 

Ron doesn’t answer. Either because he’s busy or because he sees Ben’s name on his screen and thinks it’s Leslie calling to yell at him for Morningstar. 

So Ben’s surprised when Ron appears hours later, sitting across from Ben, silent and giving nothing away. 

“How did you know?”

“I knew Leslie was due soon and there was no angry message on my voice mail, not that I listen to my voice mail, and I knew there had to be a reason.”

“What if she does? What if she dies and the last thing I said to her was ‘Oh god that’s disgusting?’” 

“She won’t,” Ron says as he stands his eyes locked with Ben’s. “She’s Leslie Fucking Knope. And I was never here.” 

Hours go by. Marlene comes and goes, he talks to both Stephanie and Henry who do a decent job of distracting Ben by talking about their own lives. He continues to lie to Ann. 

Until they’re only an hour away and he can’t lie anymore. 

When he calls her, he skips the hellos and says, “I need you to think like a nurse, not as Leslie’s best friend.” 

“That’s not going to happen.” 

Ben exhales, unsure how he should react to Ann’s honesty. But he tells her, repeating everything Dr. Saperstein said. 

Ann is quiet, so quiet Ben thinks they were disconnected. 

“Ann?”

“Ben, there’s nothing to worry about. It’s Leslie, she’ll get through this.”

“That’s what everyone tells me. But I know how odds work. Eventually-”

“Eventually, Leslie is going to wake up and want you and your children and you’re going to have to be there for her. You cannot freak out, Wyatt!” 

Ben swallows. She’s right. Leslie’s going to need him. “Yeah, okay.”

“We’re almost there,” Ann says, “Go eat something.” 

The last thing he hears before she hangs up is her telling Chris to drive faster. 

He goes to the cafeteria and grabs a sandwich and a diet coke. He eats two bites and throws away the rest. 

He checks in with the nurse. She just shakes her head and says she’s sorry, she doesn’t have any new information. 

Ben ends up sending Terry a text, asking him to come. It’s rather strange, ever since he changed his name again, it’s like he’s a completely different person. 

Or maybe it’s Ben. Maybe he’s the one who’s changed. 

But he figures if anyone knows what he’s going through, it’s Terry. 

“Oh, all of Gayle’s labors were incredibly easy. Her water broke and twenty minutes later, Milly was born. Miriam and Gladys were born thirty minutes after Gayle started having contractions.”

“Ugh, just stop.” He can’t listen to this anymore. 

When he comes back from the restroom, Terry is gone. 

The nurse has no update. 

His head is pounding. It reminds him that he hasn’t actually slept in nineteen and a half hours. 

Everything’s blurry when he hears Ann’s voice next to him, ordering him to take the pills she’s shoved into his hand. He swallows without question, using the cup of water Chris gives him. 

“Should I go ask the nurse if she knows anything?”

“No,” Ann says, “I’ll do it. You stay here and make sure he doesn’t pass out.”

Ben watched while Ann and the nurse talk. “I feel so useless.” 

“Ben Wyatt, you’re anything but useless,” Chris says. “You’re a wonderful husband and you’re going to be a fantastic father.” 

“What if I’m not?” Ben asks, “I can’t even bring myself to go into the nursery to hold them.”

“You will. You and Leslie will do it together.” Chris smiles and it’s not his I’m the good guy so trust me smile, it’s a genuine I’m your best friend and I know things will be great smile.

It makes Ben feel slightly better. 

“We can go in,” Ann announces. 

“How did you do that?” Ben asks, scrambling to stand up even though his feet are asleep. 

“I have my ways.”

“Ann Perkins,” Chris says, his voice full of awe. 

There’s too many wires and tubes and machines, but she’s breathing. She’s asleep, but he’s breathing. And Ann assures him all of her vitals are fine. 

They go to find food. Ben falls asleep in the chair. 

“Ben?”

At first he thinks he’s dreaming, but then he hears her say his name again and he opens his eyes to see her, awake and sitting up, eating what appears to be a bowl of cream of wheat. 

“Hey, you.”

“I’ve been trying to wake you up for fifteen minutes.” 

“I’m sorry,” he says, reaching out to take her hand. 

“It’s okay. it’s just that I threw my spoon at you and I need it back.” 

Ben finds the plastic spoon on his lap and gives it to her “I’m sorry. Do you need help?”

“I got it,” she says. “I’m on a lot of painkillers. I can’t even feel my face. I have a face, right?”

“You have the most beautiful face in the world,” Ben says, standing up so he can kiss her forehead. 

Leslie leans up and Ben moves his lips to hers. He kisses her slow and careful, unable to fully believe he’s able to kiss his wife again. 

“Ann filled me in. And Dr. Saperstein. And I think they said a neurologist will be here later to test me to make sure the stroke didn’t damage my brain, but they say I seem fine and I think I’m fine. Ann also told me she gave you a sleeping pill.”

“Oh. That’s what that was,” Ben says as he sits back down.

“Well you’re awake now and I’m here. I’m not going anywhere, Ben Wyatt.”

“I haven’t met the babies yet,” Ben blurts out. “I couldn’t, I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay,” she says, pushing the tray away.”I’m ready to meet them now if you are.”

Ben nods. He’s more than ready now.


	22. 4 AM

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s four am when Leslie crawls into Ann’s bedroom window, waking her up when she falls. Break up angst.

It’s four am when Leslie crawls into Ann’s bedroom window, waking her up when she falls. 

Ann startles and turns on the light. “Leslie?”

“I’m okay!” 

While Ann’s happy to hear that her best friend is fine, it doesn’t answer any of her questions, such as why she’s there, at four am. 

“Leslie, it’s four am!” She says, walking over to help Leslie up.

Leslie stands, brushing herself off as she smiles, but there’s something off about it. Ann hasn’t wanted to say anything but her smile has been off ever since she and Ben broke up. 

“I thought we could go get ice cream.” 

Ann really doesn’t know what to say to that. “What?”

“Yeah, come on put on your clothes it’ll be fun!” Again Leslie’s voice is full of false cheer. 

But who crawls into someone’s window at four am to go for ice cream? 

“Leslie, I’m pretty sure most places are closed.”

“Grocery store is open,” Leslie says, pulling a shirt and jeans out of Ann’s dresser and throwing it at her. “Also if we leave now we can be in Chicago at nine and-”

“Chicago?” Ann repeats, putting the clothes on the bed. “Leslie, what’s going on?”

Leslie looks everywhere but Ann for a moment, and at first it seems like she’s going to try to lie and say there’s nothing wrong, but then she exhales. “I saw Ben with another girl.” 

Ann is going to kill him. Slowly. With a grapefruit spoon. 

She doesn’t say that though. What she says is, “Oh, Leslie, I’m sorry. Are you sure he was really with her though?”

Leslie just nods and sits down beside her on the bed. “It was definitely a date. I knew it was over I just didn’t know it was over, over you know?”

“Yeah,” Ann says, unable to say anything else. 

Leslie squeezes Ann’s hand. “I’m sorry I woke you up.” 

Ann wraps her arm around Leslie and brings her in close. “It’s okay. Ben’s a idiot who doesn’t deserve you anyway.” 

There’s no response. At first Ann thinks it’s just because Leslie doesn’t want to agree, but then she realizes she’s fallen asleep. So Ann sighs and carefully moves them so they’re laying down, fingers still interlaced and she goes to sleep too.


	23. The World You're Living In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> End of the World angst. Ben/Shauna if you squint.

The moment it happens, he wants to throw up. He doesn’t though, even though all he feels is nausea. She looks at him, her eyes big and worried as he moves away from her, shaking his head. 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kissed you.” Even though it was her that kissed him, even though it barely lasted thirty seconds. 

“Was it, did I?” 

“No, you’re, great.” And she is. And he should be kissing her. He has every right to. He’s single, he can do whatever he wants.

But Shauna isn’t what he wants. Shauna will never be what he wants. No woman will. 

Not as long as Leslie Knope exists in this world. 

“I’m sorry, I just can’t.” She looks like she wants more explanation, but he can’t give her any, not when she could use it against Leslie.

It’s bad enough he feels like he just cheated. It’s bad enough he just told her off and came to this party with the purpose of finding Shauna to move on. 

He can’t ruin her career or her campaign too. 

“It’s okay,” she says, dimples showing. She sounds like this is par the course for her life, and he sympathizes and smiles back. 

“You need a ride home?” 

“No thanks,” she says, patting his arm. “I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah.” 

Ben goes home alone, finding the place trashed, glass everywhere. There’s a note on the table but he doesn’t read it. He doesn’t care. 

A few hours later, Leslie bangs on the front door until he wakes up. And while she confesses her jealousy and apologizes to him and his future children, Ben comes the conclusion that the only children he wants are the ones he can have with her. 

Still, he lets her go and goes back to bed, dreaming of a world where he can tell the world how much he loves Leslie Knope without consequence. 

He just wishes that world were his reality.


	24. jealousy

The thing about Cindy is she’s just what Leslie imagined. She’s tall, almost as tall as Ben and she’s wearing boots with barely any heal, and her hair is long and chestnut brown and she’s so cool. Leather jacket and a Ramones’ t shirt cool.

Instinctively, Leslie thumbs her engagement ring, just to remind herself that Ben chose her, and that he isn’t about to go running off with Cindy, no matter how much her eyes keep flickering to his mouth.

Plus, given how Ben was so great about Dave, it would be unfair of Leslie to be jealous.

Although, considering Dave was still in love with her…

Ben’s hand squeezes her shoulder, his thumb rubbing her neck. The gesture relaxes Leslie more than anything.

“So, finance manager huh?” Leslie asks, “So you’re a math nerd too?”

Cindy and Ben laugh. “We were the only two in Math Club,” Ben explains.

“Remember Mr. Davidson?” Cindy asks.

“And the Duck sweater!” Ben says, sending them both on another fit of laughter.

Don’t be jealous, Leslie commands herself. Don’t. Be. Jealous.

“Oh!” Cindy grabs Ben’s arm. “Guess who I saw the other day!”

Ben’s fingers press into Leslie’s skin. “Who?”

“Kelly. Your Kelly.”

“You have a Kelly?” Leslie asks, instantly picturing a girl even prettier than Cindy.

“Kelly was a dude,” Ben explains, hand traveling down Leslie’s back, stilling just before her waistband.

“It was Ben and Jack and Kelly,” Cindy tells her. “They were friends since what, fourth grade?”

“Something like that.” Ben’s hand moves from the small of her back to her waist. “Until Ice Town.”

Leslie forgets her jealousy for a moment so she can gauge Cindy’s expression when Ben mentions Ice Town. Cindy’s smile falters a little, but she doesn’t say anything about how Ben had it coming.

“I have his number if you want to call him.”

“Oh.” Ben frowns, and Leslie knows all the wheels and gears in his head are turning. “Sure.”

Ben’s hand leaves Leslie so he can give his phone to Cindy.

“I should have known your wallpaper would be Game of Thrones,” Cindy says.

“Do you watch it?”

“Do I watch it?” Cindy asks, voice rising, “It’s only my reason for living.”

This time, Leslie doesn’t have Ben’s hand on her to calm her, she can’t help the growl that escapes her lips.

Ben gives her a quick glance, but otherwise ignores her as he and Cindy start talking about it, comparing their favorite moments and analyzing character motivation.

The words, “In the book,” are said a lot.

She feels herself fading away. “I’m going to get a drink,” she says, walking away and not entirely sure Ben even heard her.

Leslie orders a beer and sits at the bar, watching from them from her seat as she drinks her wine, trying to calm the sick envy growing in her stomach.

But then Ben’s eyes meet hers and the envy lessens, but only slightly.

He looks away, says something to Cindy. She smiles and hugs Ben. It’s quick, but it makes Leslie’s jealousy return full force.

But then Ben comes over to her and says, “You ready, babe?”

Leslie nods and jumps off the stool, taking his arm. On the way outside, she sees Cindy, watching them.

Leslie wonders if she’s thinking about how it could have been her on Ben’s arm.

The thing though is Leslie really doesn’t blame her. Ben is perfect and cute and knows his way around a woman’s body.

It’s quiet on the way home. Leslie tries not to spiral, but it’s hard not to imagine a universe in which Ben married Cindy and she never met him. And even though she knows rationally that it’s not true, and that Ben’s going to marry her, a tear still escapes her eyes.

“She egged my house.”

Leslie swallows the lump caught in her throat. “What?”

“Cindy. After Ice Town. She egged my house.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, so whatever you’re thinking, stop.”

“I’m not-”

“Leslie.”

She shakes her head, wiping her eyes. “I’m not thinking that. I’m not worried that you’re going to go running off with her.”

“That’s good,” Ben says, caressing the back of her hand with his thumb.

“You just have a lot in common and she knows a lot about you.”

Ben pulls into the driveway of their new house and turns off the engine, turning to her.

“Okay. Ask me something.”

“What?”

“Ask me something. Whatever you want to know.”

Leslie closes her eyes, thinking. She wants to know a lot of things, but as she goes through the list of possible questions, she realizes she already has the answer. She knows his favorite book as a kid, knows who is first celebrity crush was, she knows the story of the scar on his belly.

“I can’t think of anything.”

Ben laughs. “Would it also help if I told you your boobs are better?”

It shouldn’t, but it does. Her heart stops racing, her stomach stops clenching. “Perv,” she laughs, pushing his shoulder. “Really?”

“She was actually kind of…mean,” Ben says, “Even before Ice Town. I don’t know what I saw in her. To be honest I wasn’t really thinking with my head on that one.”

“So you never thought about a future with her or anything-” she asks as they go inside the house. There’s still boxes that haven’t been unpacked, but there’s an afghan on the back of the couch that he covers her with when she falls asleep after a long night of scrapbooking. There’s the snow globe of their park he got her for their first Christmas on the bookshelf, which also contains their books, mixed together just like they’re mixing their lives together.

“Never,” Ben says, even though the answer is right in front of her. He bends down and kisses the corner of her lips, fingers playing with the ends of her hair even after he’s done. “Also I’m pretty sure she cheated on me with Kelly so…”

Kelly. Right. Leslie forgot about him. “Are you going to-”

“Who do you think helped her egg my house?”

“Oh Ben,” Leslie says, brushing his cheek with her thumb. “I wish I had been there then. I would have kicked their asses.”

Ben smiles against her lips, voice soft as he says, “And I, Leslie Knope, would have tried to get into your pants.”

Leslie laughs into his mouth, losing herself in his kiss for a moment. “Lucky for you, you don’t have to try.”


	25. brand new

Leslie’s sleeping when Marlene comes in, armed with bags of presents. Ben, still awake and unable to do anything but stare at Leslie, carefully gets out of bed to take them from her.

“How is she?” Marlene asks, her voice low while Ben sets the bags on the floor.

“She’s good. They just gave her some more pain meds, but she’s still pretty sore.”

“Of course,” Marlene says, walking over to Leslie to move the hair sticking on her face. Ben watches, amazed because he’s never seen his mother in law like this before. She’s smiling, soft and proud, completely unguarded as she strokes Leslie’s hair.

If seeing three babies being pulled from his wife wasn’t enough to push Ben off the cliff of terror, this would do it, but he’s reached the quota of just how scared he can be.

Triplets. His super hero of a tiny wife just gave birth to triplets. He can’t even wrap his head around it.

“Do you want to see them?” Ben asks.

“What do you think, Ben?” Marlene asks with a roll of her eyes.

Ben exhales, relieved at the return of the Marlene he’s used to. He double checks her iv and oxygen meter, making sure nothing’s tangled and then he leads Marlene out of the room and down the halls to the nursery.

They have to wear special gowns and face masks, but it’s worth it to be able to rock his sons in the crooks of his arms while Marlene sits next to him with his daughter.

“Have you picked out names yet?”

“We’re still debating,” Ben says as his oldest son wraps his finger around his. He stares at the tiny finger, still stunned that he had anything to do with making something so perfect. In truth, he’s not sure he did. He’s pretty sure they’re all Leslie.

The fact that the boys have dark tufts of hair beneath their caps is a lucky coincidence.

“Well, they’re perfect,” Marlene declares, right after his daughter lets out a tiny hiccup. Marlene brings her up to her chest and starts rubbing her back, telling her, “it’s okay, your mommy had the hiccups too.”

There’s a moment of comfortable silence, where they’re just sitting in the chairs and the gentle movement is almost enough to put Ben to sleep, but he keeps his eyes open so he can stare down at his children.

They have three babies. It still doesn’t seem possible.

“Leslie was the fussiest baby,” Marlene says, gaining Ben’s attention. “I think she was born with all that energy and just wanted to go.”

Ben laughs. “Yeah, I believe that.”

“And she was beautiful. She had the curliest hair and those bright blue eyes. And her father was just completely smitten.”

“I know the feeling,” Ben says, smiling at her. He’s had eight months to get used to the thought of having three children, but he never expected to love them this much. And they don’t even have names yet.

Marlene just smiles back at him.

“I think they’re starting to get hungry,” Ben says, watching as their eyes start opening. They’re all still blue, which he knows is normal, but secretly he hopes they stay blue, just like their mother.

“Well, we better go then,” Marlene says, standing up and giving her to the nurse. Ben does the same thing, watching as the nurse places them in their bassinets.

“We’ll bring them down soon,” he assures them.

They don’t go back to the room, taking a left instead of a right to grab a cup of coffee. They walk back slowly, slowly sipping the hot liquid.

“How are you, Ben?” she asks and a plethora of answers run through Ben’s mind. He’s scared, he’s overjoyed, he’s terrified, he’s elated, he’s exhausted, he’s far too excited to sleep.

“I’m fine,” he says and Marlene smiles, nodding like she knows exactly what Ben means.

When they reach the room, she puts her hand on his arm. “I always knew you were the one for Leslie.”

Ben blames his lack of sleep for asking, “Before or after you hit on me?”

Marlene just winks at him and walks inside. He shakes his head and follows. Leslie’s awake, sitting up and nursing the girl and one of the boys

“How did they beat us here?” Ben asks as Marlene picks up the boy not being fed.

“They didn’t stop for coffee,” Leslie answers, “And mom, please stop teasing Ben, he’s too close to having a nervous breakdown.”

“You just gave birth to three babies,” Ben says, kissing her. “I’m allowed.”

She smiles, mouths “I love you and I like you” to him and turns to her mom. “Aren’t they the most perfect and beautiful things you’ve ever seen?”

Marlene gives Leslie that same smile from before, but this time it doesn’t unnerve Ben. He understands now, "They’re a close second,“ she answers, her eyes meeting his.

He smiles back at her. He understands.


	26. Ben's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben goes to a tea party

Ben’s watching TV when a piece of pink paper falls onto his lap. He turns and sees long blonde hair running up the stairs. He smiles and looks at the paper. On it, written in green crayon, it says:

“DADDY PLEASE COME TO MY ROOM FOR A PARTY PLEASE BRING JUICE BOXES LOVE SONIA”

-

When he gets to Sonia’s room, she’s sitting in a circle with her toys, wearing her tiara. He sits down in the space left for him.

“Did you bring juice?”

“Apple for you,” he says, handing her the box, “and grape for me.” 

“Thank you, daddy.”

“You’re welcome, Sunny. So who do we have joining us today?”

Sonia beams and points to the Halloween bear on her right.“This is Mr. Boogybear you know him.”

“We go way back,” Ben says, reaching out to shake Boogybear’s hand. 

“And this is Mike.” She pats the unicorn on her left. “And that’s Jasmine, Lou, Sir Coppertone, Ilsa and Carl.” she points and introduces all of her toys to him. He knows them because he bought them, but he doesn’t know the toy velociraptor in front of Ilsa that Sonia failed to introduce.

“And who is that in front of Ilsa?” 

Sonia’s eyes dart to the raptor and then to his and then she looks at the floor. “That’s Icemaster.”

“Icemaster?” For a second, all he hears is is Icetown. But his four year old daughter doesn’t know about that. 

“He’s Ilsa’s pet. Please don’t ask me any more questions about him, daddy.” 

Ben smiles and says, “Okay, Sunny. I promise no more questions about Icemaster.” Even though he is curious where she got him. Although, he does have a pretty good idea and that idea’s name is Andy.

Sonia smiles back and finishes her juice box before jumping up and running to her cheap pink stereo and pushing play. Seconds later, the Kidz BOP cover of a Katy Perry song comes on and she exclaims. “Dance party!”

Ben laughs and stands up, taking Sonia’s tiny hand into his. Dancing is really just him twirling her around until she’s dizzy and falls to the floor in giggles.

When this happens, he goes down with her and they continue to play with her toys, creating an elaborate and dramatic story that’s really just Game of Thrones, minus all the violence and sex. And if he add in some elements of Cones of Dunshire, well…

“And then Carl attacks blowing fire all over Ilsa’s ice castle!” 

“Oh no!” Ben can’t believe it. Betrayed, by Carl. 

“It’s okay!” Sonia says, picking up Icemaster and attacking Carl’s throat with him while making hissing growling noises.”

-

“Heya Ben!” Andy says when he answers his phone later.

“Hey. Did you by any chance let my kids watch Jurassic Park?”

“Just the first three, dude.”

“Yeah, don’t do that.” He hangs up as the three raptors approach.


	27. Delight

“Ben, he’s doing it!” 

Ben runs out of the kitchen, pizza dough in his hand. In the living room, Leslie’s on the floor, hands out. 

Stephen’s standing, holding on to nothing. Leslie looks up, meeting Ben’s eyes, her smile as bright as the one he gives her. 

Not for the first time, he remembers what Terry once said about parenting being about the little victories. This is one of those moments. Seeing one of his children, standing without any help. 

Stephen takes a step and nearly falls, only to be caught by Leslie before he hits the ground. He doesn’t know if it truly counts, but it doesn’t stop him from from being delighted. It’s not an usual emotion. He’s felt it ever since they were born. Every thing they do feels him with joy. 

And three days later, when Stephen finally takes real steps on his own, and his brother and sister do the same, he feels it all over again.


	28. Exhausted

The first thing Ben hears is a sharp wail, followed by Leslie crawling out of bed and then her footsteps as she leaves the room. Moments later the crying is still happening. He knows Leslie has her, is doing her best to get her to sleep before she wakes her brothers, but he also knows that Leslie’s been awake for almost twenty four hours already, and needs her rest, and so does his colicky daughter. 

So he ignores his own need for sleep and climbs out of bed and goes to the nursery. She has Sonia against her chest, singing a lullaby she’s making up in the moment. 

“Give her here,” he says. “I’ll take her.”

Leslie exhales, gives Sonia to him. She doesn’t leave though, even though she looks like she might fall over any minute. 

On most nights, he would tell her to leave and go back to bed, but tonight they’re all too tired to argue. He would also try to bargain with Sonia, promising her a pony or a million dollars. But tonight, Ben decides to stick to what works best. So, he just walks around the room, singing “Mrs.Robinson” to Sonia until her wails become whimpers and the whimpers eventually fade into soft little baby snores when she falls asleep. 

It takes singing the song four times in a row. During the second one, Westley wakes up, but Leslie’s able to quickly calm him down. 

In that moment, he’s grateful that she stayed. 

Ben puts Sonia in her bassinet, waits a few seconds to make sure she’s not going to wake up and start crying again, and then turns, knowing Leslie’s still there, waiting on shaking legs. 

“Let’s get you to bed too,” he says, putting his arm around her to guide her back into their room. 

She leans into him, smiling. “You’re so sexy when you…” She doesn’t finish her sentence, somehow falling asleep mid sentence. In the hallway. Standing up. 

He carries her to the rest of the way.


	29. the lakehouse

“Okay kids, this is your room and mommy and I will be-” Ben’s about to say the other room when the three six year olds run past him, jumping onto the large bed. “No jumping!”

Two of the triplets stop, but Stephen keeps bouncing. 

“Stephen, now!”

Stephen stops, pouting. 

Ben waits for them to calm. “Good. Now mommy and I will be in the other room, so if you need us-”

“We want cookies,” Sonia says, speaking while the other two nod. She looks at her brothers, having a silent conversation that will never stop freaking Ben out. “Oreos.”

“After dinner you can have three cookies a piece.” 

“But daddy,” Westley whines, his eyes big behind his glasses. “Please?”

“After dinner,” Ben promises. “And you’re going to like dinner. We’re having waffles

They fall back onto the bed. “Not waffles again.”

Ben quickly looks behind him to make sure Leslie hasn’t heard. He sees her in the kitchen, putting everything away. Completely oblivious to the betrayal going on. 

“Do not say that to your mother. Why don’t you want waffles?”

“It’s all we have,” Sonia says, sitting up. “We want a burger.”

“Cheeseburger,” Stephen amends. 

“With fries.” 

“And a pickle!”

Ben sighs, shaking his head. “Look, if you guys eat the waffles tonight, I promise that we’ll have cheeseburgers tomorrow.” 

The three have another telepathic conversation. “Nine cookies.” 

“No.” He’ll let them have four. 

They look at each other again. “Fine,” Sonia says, sounding just like her mother. “We accept.”

Ben nods back. “And what do we do to finish deal?” 

They jump up off the bed and run to him, throwing their arms around his legs. He hugs them back before they pull back. 

“Now go put on your swimsuits.” 

They run off to change. 

He finds Leslie in the bedroom, changing into her own swimsuit. In the bathroom that separates the two rooms, he hears the boys pushing each other. 

“Kids!” Leslie yells, making them stop instantly. 

“Mom!” Sonia shouts. 

“Coming sweetie,” Leslie yells back, smiling at Ben as he rakes his eyes across her cleavage. Seven years and he can’t get enough of her. 

While she goes and helps Sonia with her suit, Ben changes into his swim trunks, just as the boys run into room, yelling in unison they’re ready to go. 

Ben looks at them. Stephen’s trunks are backwards and they’ve traded their left flippers. 

“Go turn your trunks around, Stephen.” 

“We’re ready when you are!” Leslie yells from the living room. 

The boys start to run out, but Ben puts his arm out, blocking Stephen. “Trunks. now.” 

He sighs but goes and fixes his shorts. 

Eventually, after spraying them all down with sunscreen, they all walk down to the lake. It’s just as beautiful as he remembered it as a kid. In the distance, he can see his parent’s old lake house, but the truth is, he likes this one better. It’s smaller and the layout reminds him of their first home together. 

He’s too busy thinking that he doesn’t see the wave of water until it hits his face. He wipes it off his eyes, going, “Who did that?” 

The triplets all smile and shake their head. However, it’s Leslie who looks the most guilty. 

“Oh. Is that how it is?” 

She shrugs, grins and splashes him again. “Run, kids! Daddy’s going to get us!” 

They swim around, chasing and splashing each other until they’re too tired. Then, wrapped in towels, they all march back up to the lake house. He hold Sonia’s hand as they walk, his eyes focused on the freckles on Leslie’s back while she swings the boys up the in air. 

He can’t wait to make new memories in this house. Starting tonight.


	30. the mop

He finds her in the kitchen, sobbing while she holds the mop in her hand. “Okay what-”

“The mop broke.” Ben looks down at the floor where the actual mop part is on the floor and not attached to the handle. 

“I see that,” he says, coming closer to her. “And this made you cry why?” He knows he probably shouldn’t ask, because really the answer is right in front of him in the form of her ever expanding belly. 

“Because, Ben! If we can’t keep a mop alive then how will we keep three babies alive?”

“The mop was alive?” He takes it out of her hands. “Should we say a few words before I throw it away?”

“You’re not funny,” she says, wiping her eyes. 

“Yeah, but I got you to stop crying,” Ben says, putting the broken mop aside so he can hold her. Now a days he has to hold her from her back and wrap his hands around her front, but it has it’s advantages. He bends down, tucking his chin into her shoulder, kissing her there. “We’re not going to break our kids. I promise.”

“How do you know that?”

“For one thing, that mop cost ten dollars and our kids won’t be made out of plastic.”

She sniffs. “That’s true,” she says, taking a deep breath and pulling away. “We still need a new mop though.”

“Tomorrow.” He pulls her back to him. Even though the wave of emotion has passed, he’s not done making her feel better.


	31. Mother's Day

Leslie’s on the floor in the living room with Stephen in her lap, trying to put his sock back on his foot when Ben comes in, holding a gift bag in one hand, and Sonia against his chest with the other. . 

“So, the babies got you something for Mother’s day,” he whispers, sitting down across from her and placing the box between them. 

Leslie’s eyes instantly well up with tears that she doesn’t bother to wipe away. “They did?” 

Ben smiles proudly, bouncing Sonia on his thigh. “Yep. Picked it out themselves. Isn’t that right?” he asks, tickling the bottom of Stephen’s foot, making him giggle.

“Wow,” Leslie says, looking at Westley who’s finally sleeping after a long night crying due to an ear infection in the bassinet next to the couch and then at Stephen and Sonia, both babbling nonsense. She doesn’t even care what’s in the box. The gesture is enough, and no matter what it is, it can’t be as good as them.

“Thank you,” she tells them, kissing Stephen and Sonia on their heads and blowing one to Westley before looking at Ben. “Thank you.” 

His smile tells Leslie he knows exactly what she’s thanking him for. “You’re welcome.”


	32. soft

“Here you go, Ben says, wrapping the soft towel around Sonia. She smiles and his heart lurches because of all the things she inherited from Leslie, her hair, her nose, her tenacity, it’s her beaming smile that Ben loves the most. 

He takes another towel to dry her hair. He does it as soft as he can, not wanting to pull on it or hurt her. Sonia moves though, impatient to go play with her brothers. 

“Hold on,” he says, “We gotta put you in PJ’s first.” 

Sonia sighs, lips pursing with impatience but then she nods and let’s Ben dress her in her soft pajamas. Then, when she’s dressed, she throws her tiny arms around him and kisses his cheek. 

“Thank you, Sunny.” 

Sonia just beams and runs away. He waits until his heart stops racing to look at the mess that is their bathroom. There’s water and soap everywhere. He takes a deep breath.

“Ready for the next one?” Leslie asks in the doorway, holding a squirming Westley. 

Ben holds out his arms. “Give him here.”


	33. Triumph

Ben nods, silent as he stares at his wife while his son cries as the nurses clean him off and check him over. He can’t wait to meet him, to meet all of his children, but in the moment, his attention is purely on his wife. She’s drenched in sweat, her hair plastered to her head. But there’s a smile on her face, a look of determination that he can’t get enough of. 

It figures that Leslie would be at her most triumphant when giving birth.

“I love you,” he says, and she smiles. 

“I love you too,” she says, cringing slightly. “Although right now I wish you had kept your penis to yourself.”

“No you don’t,” he says, just as the nurse brings their first child over. He takes him, instantly overwhelmed at how small and perfect he is. 

“Fine,” she says, reaching up for him. “I don’t.” 

“Get ready to push,” the doctor says. Leslie looks away, stares forward and nods. 

“One down,” Ben says, mostly to himself. “Two to go.”


	34. Ben's Birthday

“Close your eyes." 

Ben sighs and takes off his reading glasses. "Leslie, we agreed we weren’t going to make a big deal out of my birthday this year." 

"I lied. Now come on on. I promise you’ll like it.”

He should have known she would go back on her promise not to get him a gift or acknowledge his birthday what so ever. She’d never kept it before. And really it’s not her fault he’s become so freaked out by his own mortality the mere thought of getting older sends him spiraling. And it could be worse, he could be one of those guys who buys a sports car or has an affair with a twenty two year old. No, he just doesn’t want to celebrate his birthday.

Although Leslie in a red dress on the hood of a Ferrari…

“Yeah, okay." 

"Great!” She kisses him quickly and jumps up off the couch. “Okay whatever you do, don’t turn around and close your eyes when I say." 

The next thing Ben hears is Leslie urging their three toddlers to come with her into the kitchen. He could just look at them through the reflection of the tv screen, but he keeps his eyes on his book, choosing instead to listen to his wife and three children put together his surprise. 

"Okay it’s done, yay!" 

"Yay!” The Triplets chorus. 

“Okay, tell daddy to close his eyes!" 

"Close your eyes!”

“Close eyes!”

“CLOSE YOUR EYES, DADDY!”

“Inside voice, Sonia." 

Ben chuckles and closes his eyes. "Okay, the’re closed." 

He hears their footsteps as they come around the couch until he feels himself surrounded and one of them crawls onto his leg. 

"Okay, open." 

He opens his eyes to see a small chocolate cake on the coffee table, decorated with one single candle a Lego Harry Potter and and a plastic dinosaur. 

"Wow.” He might actually cry. Instead he just smiles and kisses the top of Westley’s head. “Thank you." 

"Make a wish and blow out the candle,” Leslie says, sitting next to him, the other two climbing up to sit beside her. 

“Okay, hold on, buddy,” Ben tells Westley, giving him to Leslie while he blows the candle out before Sonia and Stephen go crazy and start eating the cake while the candle is still lit. He blows it out, making the only wish he can; for more years with Leslie and his kids. 

And of course, Leslie in a red dress on a Ferrari.


	35. Date Night

“So, no kids tonight,” Ben says, walking into their bedroom where Leslie’s waiting for the tub to fill for her bubble bath.

She laughs, eyes connecting with his as she goes over to him as he undoes his tie, pulling it off for him. She her arms around his neck, fingers playing with the ends of his hair. “Is that so?”

“And I know we’ve been busy with our jobs and the campaign, but I say we take tonight off.”

“No kids, no work?” Leslie asks and Ben nods. “That sounds kind of boring.”

Ben just smiles and leans down to kiss the corner of her mouth. “Oh, well I can think of a few ways to make it not boring,” he replies, pushing her hair back so he can kiss a line down her neck.

She arches her neck back to give him better access, eyes closing as Ben’s fingers create goosebumps on her skin. The debate is in two weeks and there’s a lot she needs to do for her current job in the interior, but Ben does make a really good point.

“Like what?”

“Well, it involves that two hundred bottle of wine I got from the Ambassador of France, and a mac and cheese pizza, Attacked by a Rabbit: The Jimmy Carter story, and later, I’m going to fuck you until we fall asleep, which will probably be fairly fast as we’re over fifty and exhausted.”

“You had me at mac and cheese pizza,” Leslie says, going in to kiss her husband long and hard.

“Okay,” he says, “I’ll make the pizza, why don’t you go take that bubble bath?”

“Why don’t you take it with me?”

She watches as he debates with himself for a second, but then he’s going for his buttons. “Let’s do it.”

“So, do you really think there’s something going on between Sonia and Oliver?”

Leslie opens her eyes. She’s between his legs, head resting on his chest while they soak in vanilla scented bubbles in silence. “I don’t know,” she admits, drawing lines with her fingernails down his thighs. “It would be pretty exciting though if we had a Knope Wyatt Perkins alliance.”

“Hmm,” he says softly and it’s the last thing they say until the water becomes tepid.

While Ben cooks, Leslie turns on music and lights some candles. There’s a campaign binder on the coffee table. She goes to open it when she hears, “No working, Leslie!”

“How does he know?” she asks herself, picking the binder up to put away. She puts it on the shelf and goes into the kitchen. “It smells amazing,” she tells him, kissing his cheek. It does too, like cheese and garlic and baking bread, three of Leslie’s favorite scents ever.

“Look in the fridge,” he says, smiling coyly. She raises her eyebrow but does it, and it takes her a moment, but eventually she sees the two pink and white boxes.

“Are those?”

“Two chocolate torte cupcakes? Yes.”

Leslie takes a deep breath, closing the fridge, fingers gripping the handle tight while she tries to control her urge to just push Ben onto the floor and have her way with him. When she does turn, he’s staring right at her, smirking.

“God.”

“Not God,” he says, walking over to her and taking her chin into his hand. “Husband.”

“Husband,” she whispers as they connect.

They eat across from each other on a candle lit table while Beyonce serenades them. The pizza is delicious, just as wonderful as the first time he made it for her.

“Is it just me or is this wine just okay?” she asks, holding her glass up. “Not that I can ever tell the difference.”

“No, you’re right. It’s not that great,” Ben answers after he takes a sip from his glass. “Although knowing him, the Ambassador probably got some really cheap bottle and lied to me about the price.”

Leslie hums, puts her glass down and walks over to him. He leans up, meeting her halfway.

“Why don’t we skip the documentary tonight?”

“I love the way you think,” he says, standing to his feet and pulling her toward the stairs.


	36. facing your fears

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Ben asks, holding his daughter’s hand as they made their way through the decaying streets of Gotham to get to Batman: The Ride. It’s dark and there’s fake graffiti and the Joker’s laughing through the overhead speakers, but Ben sees exit signs and there was still time to turn back and go join her brothers and mom at the bumper cars. Or maybe they could go to the arcade and he could try to win her another stuffed animal. He saw one that had a unicorn. Sonia loves unicorns. 

But she loves Batman more, which is why they’re here. 

“Daddy!” Sonia pulls his hand and Ben blinks, realizing there’s a gap between them and the people ahead. He apologizes and starts moving along with the line. “You know it won’t make you any less brave if you don’t do this. Sometimes being brave means-”

“I want to.” She says, voice small but determined as they pass a police car with bullet holes and various cardboard cut outs of the Batman’s enemies. Ben sighs, she’s so much like her mother. But Leslie’s stubbornness is one of the many reasons he loves her so he loves it about his daughter as well. 

“Okay. If you’re sure.” For the rest of the way they sing the Batman theme song and she makes him do the voice until they reach the batcave. They get in a line for one of the middle cars, Sonia hopping up and down with excitement. 

Ben though, wants to throw up in a bush somewhere. It’s not that he’s afraid of heights, he just as a very specific fear that his seat buckle won’t work and that he will fall out. And now he has a fear that his tiny daughter is going to just slip out. 

But he reminds himself that it’s safe and that they said she was big enough and surely a twenty year old kid would know. 

“Next!" 

"Ready?” he asks, hoping that she says no. 

“Yes!” She pulls his hand and he has no choice but to get in the car. 

Ben holds Sonia’s hand the entire time, eyes closed tight as he listens to her screams and tries to keep his stomach from falling out during endless loop after loop until the ride finally comes to a stop. 

He opens his eyes and looks over at Sonia. Her eyes, the ones that look just like his, are wide and her face is beet red. 

“Okay Soso, let’s go find mommy and your brothers,” he says, helping her out.

“I want to go again!" 

Good lord.


	37. fireworks

“It’s okay,” Ben says, rubbing Westley’s back as he hides his face in Ben’s chest. “It’s not going to hurt you.”

“Too loud,” Westley says, voice muffled by Ben’s shirt. 

“I know.” He looks at Leslie, who shakes her head at him and reaches out to stroke Westley’s hair. “Do you want Daddy to take you home?” 

Ben nods, eyes connected with Leslie’s, silently asking if she’ll be okay if they leave. She nods and he says, “Yeah, let’s go home, Padawan.’

Westley sniffles and looks up, tiny fingers still clinging to Ben’s shirt. He nods, just as another explosion of fireworks goes off and Stephen and Sonia clap at the sight, and screams and hides his face in Ben’s shirt again.

Ben stands, taking Westley with him. “Come on, let’s go home and watch some clay mashe.”

“Can we watch the one with the dragon?”

“You got it.”


	38. interruption

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh,” Sonia screamed.

“My eyes, oh god my eyes,” yelled Stephen. 

Wesley did not react, as he had fainted and was still unconscious on the floor. 

Leslie and Ben scrambled to put their clothes back on. 

“Kids,” Leslie said, “You weren’t supposed to be home for another hour.”

Sonia looked like she couldn’t decide if she wanted to weep or yell. She looked everywhere but at her parents. There were some thing that could not be unseen. But then she saw it, poor Princess Bacon Pants in the corner, sleeping soundly. 

“You did it in front of Princess Bacon Pants? 

“Sonia, calm down,” Ben ordered, rubbing Leslie’s shoulder to keep her from crying too. 

“On our couch?” Stephen asked, voice a bare whisper. “I watch TV on that couch.”

“Will someone please check on Wesley?” Leslie asked. 

Stephen kicked his brother, causing him to groan. 

“Ugh. Tell me I’m dreaming.” 

“He’s fine,” Stephen said, before going to the kitchen to find the Febreeze.


	39. New Neighbors

Ben’s unpacking his plates when he hears the knock at his door. He’s lived in Pawnee for exactly ten and a half hours and has done nothing but move boxes and unpack, so his t shirt is clinging to his skin and his hair is a mess. 

So of course its his luck he opens the door and sees the most beautiful woman in his life. 

“Oh fuck.”

She tilts her head and frowns. “I’m sorry?”

“Nothing. I uh, hello.” Great, he’s dirty and an idiot. She’s going to never speak to him again.

“Hello,” she says, “I’m Leslie Knope. I live across the street. I saw you were moving in and thought I would say hi. Also, I made you these cookies.”

Ben looks down at the plate in her hand. It’s full of cookies of all kinds. Sugar, chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin and peanut butter. “Wow.”

“I didn’t want to make just one kind on the chance you might hate it. I would have made you more but this was all I had on hand.”

“No, this is great. Thanks,” he says, taking the plate. “I’m Ben.”

She smiles and he wonders if it’s too soon to ask her to marry him. “Hello, Ben. Welcome to Pawnee.”


	40. First Time

Leslie watches him as he moves through her kitchen, opening the cabinet that contains her wine glasses. He opens the bottle with practiced ease and pours, offering her one. She takes the glass, her hand shaking but miraculously able to control the glass as she brings it to her lips. She doesn’t know why she’s so nervous, it’s not as if this is her first time ever having sex. It’s not even her first time having sex with Ben.

But it’s real now, completely out in the open, and that makes it feel brand new. 

He takes the glass from her hand, setting it beside the bottle and then his lips are on hers, fingers threading through her hair as he pushes her through her kitchen until the reach the couch. She falls backwards and he goes with her, lips now falling on her neck, his fingers exploring her skin. 

She wants to say she missed him, but she’s said it so much she feels like a broken record.But it’s true though, she missed him so much she ached in her bones. There were too many nights when she woke up thinking he was beside her, only to be disappointed to find nothing but empty space. 

“Bedroom?”

“Not yet.” The words ghost cross her lips. It’s her natural instinct to hurry, to take him to her room so she can sink down on him, but as Ben’s lips slide across hers, saying everything she needs to hear without saying a word at all, she realizes she’s okay with going slow for right now. 

He’s not going anywhere.


	41. please stay

“Please stay." 

He says it so quietly that at first Leslie thinks she’s hearing things. It’s not until she hears Ben’s footsteps and he says it again that she knows better. She’s afraid to turn around though, not wanting him to see the tears she’s saving until she gets into the safety of her car. 

He comes around her though. She keeps her gaze on his shirt, not allowing herself to raise her eyes to meet his. Being here now is bad enough. 

Her eyes instinctively close when he brushes her hair out of her face. When she opens them, a tear escapes. 

"Sorry,” she says, wiping it away, “sorry I know-”

“I lied." 

She looks up. “What?” 

He takes a breath and swallows. “Last night, I lied.”

Leslie thinks back, trying to guess what Ben could have possibly have lied about. She can’t think of a single thing though. If anything, Ben had been completely honest. Brutally so. 

"About what?”

“When you asked what I would want to if the world was ending.”

“Oh, that." 

"I said I would want to go to Tom’s party, but the truth is, I would want to be with you.” he shrugs, “maybe not in your car or at an abandoned gas station, but…” he trails off. 

She exhales. “I told Ron the same thing.” 

Ben smiles, but it’s sad and broken and she wishes she could just kiss it away. “This sucks.” 

She wipes her face again. “Yeah.” 

Leslie expects Ben to say goodbye, knows that she should. There’s so much she wants to say though, that she misses him, that she can’t stop thinking about him, that she wants to be with him, screw the consequences, But she doesn’t, hoping that her sobs do the talking for her.

Be looks at the ground, as if fighting an internal battle. 

“Fuck.” He says it under his breath, and then he’s closing the gap, kissing with a rough need that somehow manages to fix her heart in ways words never could. She returns it, clutching her back in case he changes his mind. When it ends, he rests his forehead on hers. 

“We should talk." 

"Yeah.”

He steps back, but even before she can protest, he takes her hand. “Come inside,” he says. 

So she does.


	42. dead like me

He finds her in their room, after he’s checked to make sure the kids are asleep in their beds and that they have their favorite stuffed animals. She’s sitting on the bed, staring at the pages of a book on the Roosevelts but her eyes aren’t moving. Sarah Mclachlan is playing, and she’s singing along, occasionally lifting her hand to wipe the wetness off of her face. Ben watches her for a moment, wondering if he should turn around and give her more time, but then she looks up from her book and exhales. She stands up and walks to the dresser, turning off her cd player.

“Leslie?”

She turns and looks at him, her blue eyes bright and breathtaking but he notices the shadows under her eyes and the pale pallor of her skin and wonders how long his wife has been so exhausted.

She doesn’t say anything though. It’s strange, she’s usually so vocal, never afraid to tell him her thoughts and feelings even when they’re fighting. If she needs more time though, he will give it to her.

He wipes his hand over his face, his jaw twitching as he goes after her. He finds her sitting at her desk, looking at their wedding scrapbook.

“Leslie?”

“I miss you,” She seems to be speaking to the photographs. He walks over to stand beside her, seeing that she’s looking at a picture of him.

“Leslie, I’m right here.”

She slams the book shut throwing it down the her feet, breaking into full on sobs.

He puts his hand on her back. “Leslie, I’m so sorry-”

“How could you do this to me?” she yells, only to cover her mouth with her hand.

“Mommy!”

“Coming sweetie,” Leslie says, wiping her face before she walks out. Ben doesn’t follow her.

What did he do to her? He’s never done anything to deserve that kind of rage.

In the morning, Leslie makes pancakes and eggs. She only makes enough for the four of them though. “Leslie, I know you’re mad but really?”

“Okay,” she says once the kids are done eating. “We have a very busy day ahead of us. Auntie April and Uncle Andy are coming over and so is Auntie Ann and Uncle Ron. So we need to get cleaned up and dressed but first, mommy needs a hug.”

The triplets run to her, throwing their tiny arms around her. She squeezes her eyes shut and kisses their heads.

“Okay, time to take those baths.”

“No hug for daddy?” he asks, but the kids run past him. “What, now you’ve got our children mad at me? Isn’t this going a little too far?”

She looks right at him, but then she shakes her head. “Okay,” she says, then like their kids, she walks past him.

“Mommy you need to sing the shampoo song!”

“I don’t know if-”

“Please?”

“Here,” Ben says, kneeling beside Leslie by the tub where their children are begging for the shampoo song. He reaches for their no tears shampoo but she grabs it, squeezing the bottle over the their heads.

“Poo, poo,” she sings with him as they rub their heads to lather their hair. “Gonna shampoo.” her voice breaks and she stops singing.

“Okay time to rinse,” she says filling a cup with water from the faucet. “Close your eyes, Stephen.”

Once the kids are all clean, Leslie dries them off and takes them into their room, where she’s already set out outfits for them to wear. A nice dress for Sonia and button up shirts and nice pants for the boys. He knows he should help, but something stops him, making him unable to move.

The doorbell rings. “That’s them. Let’s all go give them big hugs.”

Ben follows them downstairs where Leslie lets April and Andy inside. They’re both wearing black. Andy throws his arms around Leslie, who hugs him just back as tight. It’s April who pulls them away, only to hug Leslie.

Now that’s weird.

“I’m okay,” she lies. “Can you watch them while I get ready?”

“Sure,” April says, the kids already pulling Andy toward the living room to play.

“Okay. Ron and Diane should be here soon. I don’t know when Ann and Chris…” she trails off, breaking into tears again.“I’m sorry.”

“Leslie-” Ben starts, but she just wipes her face and turns away.

“April-” he starts, but she walks past him to join Andy and the kids in the living room.

Why is everyone ignoring him?

It’s not until later, when Leslie’s dressed and all of their friends are gathered in the living room, dressed in dark clothes that Ben starts to have a feeling he knows what’s going on. “Okay, so fun prank guys, but you can stop pretending I’m dea-”

Oh.

Someone accidentally steps on the remote, turning the TV off.

“the plane crash killed a hundred passengers, including junior congressman from Indiana-”

“Turn that off.”

Ron hits the power button on the TV.

“Thank you,” Leslie says, only to jump off the couch and run out of the room. He runs after her, along with Ann. She falls into Ann’s arms. He steps around them, wishing to God he could wrap his arms around Leslie and kiss the tears off her face.

“He left me, Ann.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“He fucking left me.”

“I’m right here.”

“He prom-” she can’t seem to get the rest of it out. Ann says nothing, just lets Leslie get her dress wet.

“Sorry, but it’s time to go.” Ben looks at where Chris is standing. The girls pull away.

“How do we look?” Leslie asks. Their eyes are red, mascara running.

“You two are literally the most beautiful women on the planet,” Chris says, voice shaking. Ben’s never agreed with Chris more.

It’s weird, attending your own funeral. He doesn’t listen to the speeches though. He focuses completely on his wife. She’s sitting between the boys and Sonia’s on her lap. They don’t seem to completely understand what’s going on, but the fact that they’re sitting still speaks volumes.

It’s like they know their mom needs them.

When it’s over, Leslie stays behind with Ron for a moment while Ann and Chris take the children.

“What am I supposed to do, Ron?”

“You live your life,” Ron answers, “Ben would have wanted that.”

“Oh what do you know about what Ben wants?”

Ron softly growls under his breath but otherwise ignores Leslie’s outburst. He’s right though, Ben does want her to live her life. He wants her to raise their children and maybe meet someone who will love her a tenth as much as he does and grow old before joining him.

He’s got nothing but time. He’ll wait for her.

Later that night, after the wake and everyone’s left and the children have been put to bed, Ben watches from their bed as Leslie changes into her pajamas and crawls into her bed. She pulls a necklace out of her shirt and he sees his ring. He looks down at his hand, relieved to see that it’s still on his finger. She kisses it and then puts it back under her shirt.

“I’m going to be with you forever,” he promises, even though he doesn’t know if that’s true. But he wants it to be.

He’ll stay as long as he can.


	43. kiss cam

She pulls away from him and Ben can still feel the sting of cotton candy and beer on his lips. Her hand lingers on his shirt for a moment, before her fingers finally release the fabric and falls away.

“I’m sorry-”

“No it’s okay.”

“Just, the camera landed on us and I kind of panicked. I’m so sorry.”

“Really, Leslie, it’s fine,” Ben says, even though his heart is racing and he wants to feel her lips against his again.

Leslie exhales and smiles. “Okay.”

The game resumes and they continue watching, yelling and cheering. He doesn’t watch the game though, he just watches Leslie. Leslie who’s on her feet, yelling when one of the Clipper’s players fowls a Pacer.

“I never thought you’d be into basketball,” Ben says when she sits down.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” Then she winks at him, only both of her eyes close, making her look both adorable and ridiculous.

He needs to kiss her again.

Leslie’s up again though, cheering as their team scores another three points and ties the game. After that, Ben gets into the game too, cheering the Pacers on, even though in the back of his head, he’s thinking about how Leslie’s lips felt against his.

He can’t remember the last time he felt this way about anyone. Sure, he’s had girlfriends and his weird relationship with Chris, but this? This is different. She gives him a look, like maybe she knows exactly what he’s feeling. 

Midway through the third quarter, when the Pacers have a ten point lead, Leslie turns to him and says, “I don’t want to deal with traffic and I know how this game is going to end. You want to go?”

Ben nods, and follows her down the aisle toward the exit. When they’re outside, he’s overwhelmed by the smell of concrete and stale beer and asphalt and there are too many lights and clouds to make the sky pretty. But then Leslie nudges him with her shoulder and he may as well be in a field of flowers while the sun beams down on him.

They’re almost to her car when she stops and says, “Screw it,” and before he can ask why, her lips are on his again, right in the middle of the parking lot. He pulls her close and they fall against a car that isn’t theirs, causing the alarm to go off.

“Oh no!” Leslie jumps away, but she’s laughing and her hands are on his forearms and she’s pulling them away from the car. “Run!”

They take off, running until they get to her car. He grabs her by her waist and the laughter fade, just as he leans in to kiss her again.


	44. tears

She clutches his hoodie as she sobs into his neck. All he can do is hold her and write I love you over and over on her back, hoping that the words seep into her skin and flow through her blood steam until she understands that no matter what happens, she still has him. 

Eventually though, the crying stops and Leslie looks up. Her eyes are red, cheeks puffy. There’s a line of black from her mascara underneath her eye. He wipes it off with his thumb. 

She touches the wet spot on his t shirt. 

“It’s okay,” he says. His shirt is unimportant. He can wash it. “Are you hungry?”

“A little,” she answers, just as her stomach growls. “Okay, a lot.”

He kisses the top of her head. “You wanna go to JJ’s?”

To his surprise, Leslie shakes her head. “I don’t want to go out. Not yet. Is that okay?”

Ben replies by pulling her closer, wrapping his arms tight around her. “I can make you something.”

Leslie nods. “Thank you,” she says, leaning up for a kiss. He gives it, soft, with only just enough pressure. 

“I love you and I like you,” he reminds her, before letting her go. She smiles, returns the sentiment, quiet and sincere.


	45. lift

They’ve been kissing for what feels like days to Leslie, and she’s dizzy, from lack of air or from the way his mouth tastes, she’s unsure. Ben pulls back, just slightly, a slow smile on his face that still manages to brush her lips. Her legs shake as he kisses his way down her neck, his hands mapping her body, fingers pulling on her blouse, fingers grazing the ticklish skin underneath, making her shiver. 

In a lot of ways, it feels like they’ve been building up to this moment ever since they met. A part of her, a small part, still hates him, wants to punish him, but a much larger part just wants him inside her and to never leave. She says his name, hoping that he understands what she’s asking for.

And then his hands grip her waist, lifting her up off the ground, just the thing she wanted. She’s quick to wrap her legs and arms around him, letting out a soft, “Oh,” when her back hits the wall. 

“You okay?”

“Great,” she says, wanting his mouth on hers again. 

2: 

All Ben wanted was to drink a couple beers and find a girl to spend the rest of his night with, but instead he’s trapped in the bathroom by the most annoying girl he knows, and no matter how hard he tries to go around her, she’s quicker, making it impossible to leave. She’s talking, yelling at him actually, for whatever crime he’s committed in her eyes this week. 

“Why are you even at this party?” he asks. 

“What?”

“I mean, who invited you? You’re a pain in the ass.“ 

The way her face drops fills him with regret, but he refuses to apologize out of principle. "Move or I’ll make you." 

Her eyes meet his, glaring like blue fire. Not for the first time, he imagines fucking her, considers how great that stubborn passion of hers must be, but then shakes the thought away. "No." 

Ben sighs. "Fine.” He grips her waist, fingers pushing into her skin and picks her up, turning around and dropping her back down. He walks out, ignoring her protests as he goes to get that beer. 

3: 

The good news is it’s stopped raining. The bad news is there’s a huge puddle on the ground between Leslie and the bus and her shoes are suede. “Crap in a box,” she mutters, knowing that she’s about to sacrifice her shoes and skirt. 

“Wait!.” Before she can step forward, she’s pulled back. “Trust me,” the voice whispers in her ear. She looks at the driver, who looks amused and annoyed for having to wait. 

“Okay.” Then she’s being lifted up, carried across the giant puddle by the one person she’s sworn to never have anything to with again. He sets her down gently, unlike the way he dropped her at Tom’s party, takes his hands away and the doors close before she can thank him. 

4\. 

He’s on his way to the computer lab to print out his sociology paper when he sees Leslie, glaring up at the bookshelves. He considers walking on, ignoring her and maybe a few months ago he would have, but now things have changed. 

“Problems, Knope?”

She doesn’t even bother to glare at him. “I can’t reach that book,” she says, pointing,“and there aren’t any ladders.”

“Oh. I’ll see if I can get it.” He stands on his toes and stretches his arm, but his fingers just barely touch the shelf below the one she needs. “Fuck. Maybe I can find that ladder-”

“Wait, I got an idea!” He looks at her, takes in the way her eyes light up and the smile on her face and wants to kiss her. “Pick me up.”

“What?” He’s not against the idea, but he’s not sure touching her right now is the best idea. He’s pretty sure if he has to feel Leslie’s small body in his hands again, he will die. 

“Oh come on, it’s not like it’s the first time you’ve picked me up. Just do it." 

He sighs, and he sees that same pain he put on there months ago flicker across her face. "Okay,” he says, “on one condition." 

"I’m not setting you up with any more of my friends." 

"That’s fine. I don’t want your friends. I want you. Go on a date with me.”

She laughs. “Yeah, okay, now help me get that book." 

He does, this time breathing in her shampoo and citrus body lotion. She grabs the book, says okay, but he’s slow to put her back down, keeping his hands on her. She stills and then to his complete surprise, spins around and pushes him into the shelf behind him. 

"Screw you.”

“Please." 

She smiles again, let’s go of his shirt. "Thanks for the lift, Wyatt.” 

“So I’ll call you?” he asks, as she’s walking away. 

She ignores him.


	46. Four Mornings

1: 

As long as Leslie can remember, her mornings have been the same. Her mom wakes her up by stroking her hair and saying, “C’mom sleepyhead, dad’s making breakfast.” And like magic, Leslie can smell pancakes, along with scrambled eggs and bacon. She smiles and pushes her unicorn blankets off her and runs down stairs, eager to eat. 

This morning is different though. She wakes up on her own and not only is there no smell of pancakes, a quick look at her clock tells her she should have been at school an hour ago. 

She looks out the window. There’s no snow on the ground. She puts on the clothes laid out for her the night before and runs downstairs, where she finds her mom sitting on the couch, talking on the phone. 

“Mom, I’m late for school!”

Her mom looks up at her and Leslie drops her backpack on the floor. She’s never seen her mom cry before. 

“She’s awake now, I have to go,” Marlene says to the person on the other line. “Thanks for everything, Greta.” she hangs up and reaches out. “Come here, darling.” 

Confused, Leslie crosses the distance to her mom and climbs into her lap.

2: 

Leslie’s been awake for three hours when Mark appears, bleary eyed but dressed. She smiles at him, thinking of the night before and how amazing it was. Sure, Leslie had to do all the work and Mark barely even touched her, but none of those things mattered, because he said he wanted her. Mark Brendanwicz wanted her. 

“Uh, hey,” he says, “uh, so, this house is… interesting.” he frowns and the cardboard cut out of her mom and shakes his head. “Yeah, so I gotta go.”

“Are you sure?” Leslie asks, putting her binder down so she can go up to him. “I can make us breakfast.”

Mark combs his fingers through his hair and shakes his head. “Yeah, I think I’ll just go.”

Leslie doesn’t think to be disappointed. Of course Mark can’t stay for breakfast. He has things to do. People like them, they’re always on the go. “Okay,” she says, leaning up to kiss him. She had to stand on her tip toes and Mark doesn’t lean down, and he barely kisses her back. 

“I’ll see you later, Leslie.” 

“See you later, Mark.” 

3: 

All she can see is tufts of dark brown hair sticking out from under the blanket. If she looks down, she can see the tips of his toes. 

“Ben?” 

“Not yet,” he mumbles, flipping over inside his cocoon. 

Leslie just smiles. “Okay. I’m going to take a walk and then make breakfast.” 

It’s muffled, but Leslie can still make out the request for blueberry pancakes. 

“You got it.” 

The air is cold, making Leslie wish she brought a warmer jacket, but the sun is still rising and the birds are wishing each other good morning and unlike all the other mornings for the past eight weeks, it truly feels like it’s going to be. 

As soon as she opens her front door, she smells the all too familiar scent of waffles being cooked. She rushes into the kitchen, finding Ben in front of her waffle iron, in his pajamas still, his hair uncombed. 

He’s beyond sexy.

“I told you I was going to make you pancakes.” Ben already made dinner last night. 

He smiles at her. “I know, but you left and I got to thinking about how cute you are and how much I missed you and then I though about waffles and those sounded better than pancakes. 

“Oh.” Can he be any more perfect? Ben Wyatt truly is the most perfect man in the world and he’s here, in her kitchen, making her breakfast.

Ben sighs. “You’re crying again.” 

“You’re here,” she says, wiping her cheeks. “And it’s real and you’re making me waffles and I just, I can’t, you know I am so, i just, wow and-”

“Come here,” he says, reaching for her. She goes, still crying and babbling nonsense until he kisses her thoughts away. 

4: 

“Okay who wants pancakes?” 

It’s Saturday morning, congress is out of session and while she always has work to do, it’s nothing that can’t wait. So today she’s going to cuddle on the couch and watch Disney movies and play with three adorable monsters and make out with their father while they nap. 

“I do!” Three toddlers scream as the scramble into their chairs. She puts them on the plates, making a smiley faces out of whipped cream. She puts an airplane on Westley’s, a butterfly on Sonia’s and a race car on Stephen’s. Their three current obsessions.

Ben kisses the corner of her lip and takes two of the plates, giving them to the boys before returning for Sonia’s. “What are you going to put on mine?” 

“Well I can’t put your favorite thing,” she says, laughing at the face he makes as he delivers Sonia her pancakes. “So you’re going to have to make due with your second favorite thing.”

“So your boobs?” 

“What’s a boob?” Sonia asks, mouth full.

“Nothing, Soso,” Ben says sounding slightly panicked. Leslie just a laughs and kisses him quickly, pinching his butt to distract him. 

“Third favorite thing then.”

“Try tenth,” Ben says, giving her a long look up and down that makes her want to just grab him and make out with him against the counter. 

Instead she hands him a pancake with Dr. Buttons on it and accepts his thank you with a kiss.


	47. the emt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> emt au

“I’m not feeling it,” her date says, but before Leslie can respond, white hot pain shoots through her body, making it impossible to think, let alone speak. Eventually the pain subsides, but Gavin’s already gone. 

It’s not like she could chase after him. She can’t even bend her leg or stand up. 

She exhales, both out of frustration and from the pain. She looks at her knee, thinking it doesn’t actually look that bad. Sure the skin is black and blue and the kneecap has shifted to the right and there’s some blood and gravel that will definitely need to be cleaned. She tries to rub the gravel away, only to regret it immediately. 

Leslie distracts herself by trying to decide if this date was better or worse than the time she drank vinegar. It’s definitely not as bad as the time Roger got on one knee and begged her to never call him again. 

Just once, she would like to go on a date where it didn’t end horribly. Was it her? Was it something she did?

Thankfully the ambulance arrives before she can try to solve that particular riddle. 

She watches at the doors swing open and two men jump out. She waves at them and one of them grins and waves back. The other just kneels beside her and starts looking her over, asking her name and what happened. 

“Well I was on a date-”

“A date?” the nice one asks, “that’s wonderful.”

“Where is he?” asks the grump. His name tag says Ben but she thinks Grump is better. If only he wasn’t also incredibly hot. His partner, Chris, is also good looking, but Ben is slight and his hair is dark and his eyes are like brownies.

“Oh he left.” 

“He left?” Ben the grump repeats. “To do what?” 

Leslie shrugs. “I don’t know. I don’t suppose you have an morphine in that bag, do you?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of you, Leslie Knope,” Chris (the nice one), says, squeezing her shoulder. “I’ll get the stretcher.”

“Yeah, hurry though, she’s about to pass out.”

“I am not about to pass-” 

When she wakes up, she’s in the emergency room, surrounded by doctors and nurses who are all speaking to each other in a language she doesn’t understand. She looks around and finds Ben standing right beside her. 

“You can squeeze my hand if you want.” 

She has no idea why he’s offering his hand or what they’re about to do, but she takes his hand and focuses on how big it is compared to hers as one of the nurses smiles and asks if she’s ready. 

Leslie doubts no is an acceptable answer. 

This time, the pain is so intense, so focused that she thinks she might have exploded like a supernova. But then it’s gone, almost as quickly as it came. 

She realizes she’s still holding his hand when Chris pokes his head through the curtain and gestures to him.

“I gotta go,” Ben says, letting her go. “Feel better, Leslie.” 

“Bye.” She waves and this time, he waves back.


	48. last chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> professors au

“To the end of another semester,” Ben says, holding up his shot glass of tequila. He watches as Leslie, Ann and Tom repeat the toast and together, they drown the shots and slam the glasses down on the table. 

“Dance with me, professor.” Leslie pushes him out into the crowd, demanding he dance with her. The song is upbeat and usually Ben doesn’t like to dance, but he can still feel the warmth of the tequila and it’s the last day of the semester so he figures what the hell. 

That and he knows Leslie’s not going to take no for an answer. So he keeps up with her, grateful that she looks as ridiculous as he feels. The song ends though, and a slower song replaces it. For a moment Ben stands, wondering if he should offer to buy Leslie another drink, but then she drapes her arms around his neck and he finds himself wrapping his arms around her waist. 

“So, Benjamin, what are your plans for the summer?”

“Oh you know, read, write, review, the usual academic stuff. You?”

“The History of Pawnee needs to be updated,” Leslie answers and Ben hums his agreement, all too aware of how she’s playing with the ends of his hair. “I was thinking of taking a week off to go surfing with Ann.” 

“That sounds fun,” Ben says, wishing he had something else to say. “I might take a vacation too.” It’s not a complete lie. Now what he’s thinking about it, maybe he does need to go lie on a beach somewhere, or take a few days and drive up to his parent’s lake house. 

The song ends and this time Leslie pulls away, her fingers tracing his neck and shoulders, her smile soft. “I should go. I have breakfast with the Dean tomorrow.”

“Oh,” Ben says, raising an eyebrow. “That should be…”

“Fun?”

“I was going to say terrifying,” Ben says, making Leslie throw her head back and laugh. Of all the things that make Ben want to kiss her, it’s her laugh that does it the most. 

“My mom is not that scary,” Leslie says, though Ben’s pretty sure she doesn’t mean it. 

He walks with her to the table where Tom is sitting alone, scrolling through his phone.

“Why aren’t you out dancing, Tom?” Leslie asks. 

“Song’s not a banger,” Tom answers. “Besides, Lucy just texted me so I think I’m gonna go home and talk to her.” He pats Leslie on the shoulder and says to Ben, “Night, grandpa.” Before heading for the door. 

“Aww,” Leslie says, just as Ann stumbles back to the table, her martini spilling on her shirt. 

Ben figures that’s a sign they should just go. So he offers to drive Ann home and the four of them head out of the bar, the fresh air sobering them up slightly. 

Leslie walks with them to his car and waits while he helps Ann into his passenger seat. 

“I’m gonna walk Leslie to her car, wait here,” he tells Ann. 

“Just kiss her already,” Ann says, loud enough that the entire parking lot hears it. 

“She does have a good point,” Leslie says as they walk over to her car. “you really should just kiss me already.”

Ben exhales. He’s been in love with Leslie ever since they met at an interdepartmental lunch when he first moved to Pawnee, and he’s pretty sure that the feeling is mutual, but he’s been waiting for the right moment to ask her out. 

The last night of the school year seems like a good enough time. “You sure you’re okay to drive?” he says, not to change the subject, but to make sure he can kiss her with a clear conscience.

“I’m positive,” she says when they reach her car. “I checked my chart. You’re good too.”

“That’s good to know,” Ben replies as he cups her face and slides his lips across hers. He can taste the slight sting of tequila but mostly he just tastes her. 

“You sure you don’t want to have breakfast with me and my mother?” Leslie asks when they pull away.

“I’m sure. How about dinner instead? Just the two of us.”

“Pick me up at eight.” 

“Deal,” Ben says as Leslie pulls him down to seal it with a long kiss that makes him need to think about his grandmother. 

He whistles as he walks back to his car. It’s going to be a great summer.


	49. mixed signals

She’s just finished putting Stephanie to bed when Leslie hears the front door slam, making Stephanie startle. It takes Leslie several minutes to convince the six year old there’s nothing to worry about and that it’s not Boba Fett come to take her in. After two more stories and a song, Stephanie finally calms and Leslie’s able to turn off the light and go downstairs, where she finds Stephanie’s older brother, Ben, in the kitchen, eating one of the cupcakes she and Stephanie made.

He licks the frosting off his fingers and she tries not to whimper.

He glares at her though, even though she’s said nothing. Then again, Ben’s always glaring at her, as though her mere existence offends him. So most of the time she avoids him, talking to him only when he talks to her first. 

Tonight is no exception. She refills her glass of water and takes it to the living room, where she gets her homework out. 

“You can go home, I’m here.” 

Leslie glances at the clock. It’s not even nine thirty and Ben’s home. She was pretty sure he was out with his girlfriend, Cindy. Usually he doesn’t get home until eleven at the earliest. 

“I know, but I kind of need to stay until your mom gets here. Unless you want to pay me.” 

Ben makes a face like he’d forgotten that she gets paid to babysit his sister. “Ah, well.” She waits for him to say something else, but when he doesn’t, she turns back around and opens her algebra book. 

She expects Ben to go lock himself in his room, since that’s what he usually does, but instead he sits down in the chair beside the couch and grabs the remote. 

“You mind?”

“Nope, go ahead.” Leslie gestures it’s okay for him to turn the TV on and goes back to trying to do her work. 

Ben searches through the guide before settling on an episode of Cupcake Wars. 

“Hey, you made those cupcakes right?”

“Stephanie helped, but yeah. Did you like them?”

“Best I’ve ever had. You’ll have to make more.” 

“Well, I’m glad you liked them.” She looks down so he won’t see how red her cheeks are. 

There’s another bit of silence until the next commercial break. 

“That’s algebra right?” 

“Yeah.”

“You need help?” 

She says yes, because she really does need help, but as Ben moves to sit next to her, it feels too surreal. This is the most Ben’s ever talked to her and considering how just a few minutes ago he was slamming doors and drinking beer, she’s not sure how to proceed. 

“Ah, okay yeah this is easy,” Ben says as looks over the problem. “You just have to distribute.”

“Um, can you show me?” 

Ben smiles and Leslie’s not sure if it’s because of her or if he just really likes math. “Pencil?” 

She gives him her pencil and watches as he works the problem out on her notebook, explaining step by step what he’s doing. 

Leslie wishes she was listening, but as Ben does the problem it reminds her that she has a problem of her own. Namely, her huge- can see it from the surface of the moon- crush on him. It’s probably why he hates her. It is really embarrassing to be a popular junior and have a lowly freshman like you. 

“Now you try it.” 

She does, but it’s hard to concentrate when Ben is so close and he smells like vanilla ice cream. 

She wonders if he would taste like vanilla ice cream too. 

“I think I got it,” she says, closing the book even though she’s not done. It’s fine, it’s Friday she has all weekend to figure it out. She’ll just Gryzzl the answers if she has to. 

Ben, however, does not move back to the chair. He stays right where he is, eyes on the TV. 

Cupcake Wars ends and Ben says, “Mom’s probably not going to be home until midnight, you wanna watch a movie?”

She looks at the clock. It’s only ten. “Sure.” 

He puts in Tim Burton’s Batman, saying, “I know Ledger’s Joker was better but this is a classic.” 

“Yeah,” Leslie agrees, figuring she should say something or he’ll think she’s an idiot. 

He sits down next to her again. She figures it’s just because it’s a better place to watch the TV. She even thinks about moving, but then Ben yawns and stretches his arms, resting his left arm around her shoulder. 

This, Leslie thinks, is the very definition of a mixed signal. 

“Ben?”

“Cindy and I broke up.”

Leslie wishes she could say she’s surprised by this but there were rumors going around for weeks about Cindy and Ben having problems. 

“Oh. I’m sorry.” Normally Leslie would ask her friends if they want to talk about it or make them post break up cookies or sing women’s point of view break up songs with them until they’re better, but she’s pretty sure none of those methods will apply to this current situation. 

“It’s fine. Truth is I’m relieved,” Ben says, his voice dropping several octaves, “means I can do this-”

He’s kissing her. Ben’s lips are on hers and his hands are on her face and he is kissing her. 

He tastes like Devil’s chocolate. 

She pushes him away. “Wait, you hate me.” 

“According to who?”

“According to you!” Leslie jumps up from the couch. “You glare at me all the time, you never talk to me, I didn’t even think you knew my name! And now you’re kissing me? On the night you break up with your girlfriend? I might be younger than you and you may be cute but I am no one’s rebound. Now I’m going to leave now, because this is very awkward.”

Ben stares at her for a few seconds before smiling. “I thought you wanted to stay until mom got home so you could get paid.”

“Money is overrated,” Leslie says, ignoring the voice in her head that says she needs money for gas. She also ignores how that voice sounds an awful lot like her American Government teacher while she gathers her things. “I’ll just come back tomorrow and get it.”

“Yeah, okay,” Ben says, turning the movie off and standing up. “Stay, go, you should do whatever you want. But you should know that I do like you. A lot.” 

She watches as he goes up to his room, keeping her hand on the door handle for about fifteen seconds before she gives in and follows him. 

His door is open and he’s standing at his record player like he’s expecting her. “You really like me?”

He smiles at her. “Yeah.”

“Okay.” She takes a step closer. “I like you too, but I meant what I said about not wanting to be your rebound, so do you think you could ask me out in a month?” 

“A month?” Ben shrugs when she nods. “Yeah, I could do that. A month it is.” 

“Okay,” Leslie says, backing up. “I’m gonna go downstairs, otherwise I’ll do something really stupid so, I’ll see you, Ben.”

“See you, Leslie.” He waves at her and she hurries out before she breaks her own rule and pushes him on his bed and makes out with his face. 

He likes her. He’s going to ask her out in a month. 

She needs to figure out what she’s going to wear.


	50. uh oh

“Uh oh?” Ben repeats her words from just a minute before. She knows she should be thinking about their jobs and Chris and all the risks but it’s impossible to think of any of that when his thumb is on her chin and his lips are red and shiny and so very appealing. 

“You’re very good at that. Do you practice?” Leslie closes her eyes, wishing she hadn’t just said that. Ben though, just laughs. 

“Every night in the mirror,” Ben says, his tone completely dry so it takes her a few seconds to realize he’s teasing her. 

She responds by combing he fingers through his hair and bringing him back down to her lips.


	51. the force awakens

It’s close to midnight when Leslie wakes up to an empty bed. Her first instinct is to assume some kind of body switch happened and she was really inside her husband’s body, but a quick look in the mirror takes care of that worry. 

Plus she remembers leaving her husband on the couch while he watched the new “Star Wars” trailer again and again. 

So after a quick check on the babies to make sure they’re all sleeping soundly in their cribs, she sneaks downstairs to find Ben stil awake, still watching that trailer. 

God, she can only imagine what he’s going to be like when the actual movie comes out. 

She taps his shoulder. “Hey, are you-” 

“It’s all real, Leslie,” he says, grabbing her hand. “The Jedi, the Dark Side, it’s all real.” 

She exhales. She knew what she was getting into when she married him. “Okay.”

“You saw it right?” 

She did. Twice. She’s pretty sure it would have been more but thankfully two of their children needed new diapers. 

“Why don’t you come to bed?” Leslie says instead of answering. “You have work tomorrow.”

“Babe, how can I sleep when this exists?” 

Leslie smiles, remembering how she said the almost the exact same thing to him after the triplets were born. It’s almost enough to make her relent but then he says, “This is the greatest day of my life.” 

“”I gave birth to your children. Three of the. On the same day.” Technically it was two days since Westley wasn’t born until after midnight but that’s unimportant. 

Ben smiles at her. “You did. Hey, what do you think of changing-”

“You won’t let me name them Ruth Bader Ginsberg,” she reminds him, feeling a little testy. “There is no way we are renaming them Luke or Leia or C3P0 or after that one Ewok.”

“Wicket?” 

She throws her hands up in defeat. She’s about ready to say she’s going to bed and if the babies wake up, to deal with them by himself, but then the screen flashes to an elderly Han holding Leia. She might not understand all the intricacies of the “Star Wars” universe but she understands that. 

“Ben,” she says, forgetting her anger so she can sit next to him, “am I the Leia to your Han?”

“You better believe it, Princess,” he says, kissing the top of her head before he pushes play again.


	52. For Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Leslie return from a funeral

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Major character death.

Leslie sits on their bed, finally releasing the breath she’s been holding all day. She reaches up and thumbs the pendant on her necklace, the one Ann bought for her for her birthday, the very first the ever celebrated as friends. 

She hasn’t worn the necklace in years, but it feels appropriate today.

She exhales again, and there must be something about this particular exhale because Ben, who’s been quietly taking off his suit, is suddenly next to her. And really she has no idea how he moves so fast, considering he usually needs his cane or a walker to move around now. 

“I’m here,” he says, and she leans against him, her head touching his. Their fingers interlace and Leslie finds herself staring down at them. His hands are pale, covered in liver spots, hers in wrinkles. 

“I can’t believe she’s gone,” she says eventually, after she’s cried as much as her body will allow for the moment. It’s something everyone says when someone they know dies, but it feels even more true today. She truly cannot comprehend waking up tomorrow morning and not being able to talk to Ann Perkins. 

At least she has Ben. Who has to take medicine for his heart and whose joints flare every time it rains. 

“I know.” 

She thinks about Chris, sobbing as they lowered Ann’s casket into the ground, and how weathered his face looked. 

First Garry, now Ann. Soon it might be Chris, or Ben, or even her. She’s not as energetic as she used to be either. One by one, they’re all going to go. 

“I want to know who’s next so I can be prepared.” 

He kisses her cheek. “I don’t think it works like that, honey.”

“Well it should,” Leslie says, feeling rather furious with the world. “Your heart-”

“My heart is fine. It’s just sad.” 

The phone rings. Ben looks at it and shows it to Leslie, who sees Sonia’s picture on the screen. He answers, pushing the speaker option. “Hey, sweetie.”

“Hey dad. Is mom-”

“Hi, Sunny.”

“Hi, mom,” Sonia’s voice softens, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Leslie lies, “How are my grandmonsters?”

“Wild,” Sonia answers with a laugh. “Peter got into honor’s History.”

Leslie swallows the knot forming in her throat. Forget all the wonderful career accomplishments, she and Ben created three amazing human beings, who have done so many great things with their lives, including giving her perfect grandchildren. Later, when she’s able, she will call Westley to make sure he and Oliver are alright. She saw and hugged them a the funeral, but it wasn’t enough. 

“Wow. Tell him I’m proud of him.”

“I will. You’re sure you’re okay?”

This time, it’s Ben who answers. “She’ll be alright.” His hand squeezes hers an she squeezes back. 

After few more minutes of conversation, they say goodbye to Sonia and Ben stands up with some effort. Leslie’s hesitant to let him go though, needing him to stay with her forever. 

He did after all, promise her forever. 

Ben smiles back at her, his eyes meeting hers. His face might be older, his hair white, but his eyes are still the same. And even though they’ve been through so much together, they’ve never lost their affection. 

“I’m not going anywhere, I’m just taking off this suit. I swear that new material they’re making clothes out of these days makes my skin itch like crazy.” 

She laughs. “You’re such a grump.” 

“Come on. Help an old man out.”

“Are you flirting with me, Wyatt?” Leslie asks, even as she stands up with is help. 

“Is it helping?” 

It is. It shouldn’t be, considering, but it is. 

“Ben, what if-”

“No, no what if’s. I’m not going anywhere and neither are you.” He sounds so confident that she has to believe it. “We’re going to go together, in our sleep, when we’re a hundred and ten. Or in an explosion, I haven’t figured out which one yet.”

God, she loves this man so much. She kisses him, tasting oranges, which have been his favorite food lately. “Promise me something.”

He sighs, “Okay, what is it?”

“If I go-” For a reason she can’t explain to herself, it’s easier to think about her going before Ben. 

“Which you’re not-”

“If I go, promise me if you start dating again, you’ll wear protection because I know how old people operate and it’s not-”

“Will you let me take off your dress and feed you and hold you in our bed if I say yes?”

The second he says it, it’s all she wants to do. She doesn’t even care about eating. She does however, care about getting out of her dress. Ben’s right, their clothes do itch. 

“Help me out of this dress?” 

“I thought you would never ask,” Ben says, pulling down the zipper. “You want to take off your necklace?” 

She takes hold of the pendant and for a moment, she’s back in Ann’s living room, listening as she says she found it and though Leslie would like it, and the hour or so of hugging that followed. 

“Not yet,” Leslie tells Ben, who nods and continues to remove his suit. They redress into t shirts and flannel pants slowly, helping each other. 

Finally though, they climb into bed, face to face, fingers interlaced.

At least she has this. For now.


	53. careful

“You need to be more careful,” Ben says as he places the ice pack on the bruise forming underneath her eye. 

Leslie winces from the cold. “Are you blaming me for not ducking?” 

“That’s not what I meant.” His voice is soft while he moves the ice pack slightly. Leslie sighs, understanding. 

“I know. But this merger is important and…” She trails off, not sure if she wants to admit her thoughts. 

“And?” Ben asks, wiping off a droplet of water from her cheek. His touch is feather light, even where there’s no bruise or pain. 

Leslie takes a deep breath. “And I don’t know. I guess I thought after the merger everyone would just magically get over themselves and be happy about being one town again.” She sighs. “I know that’s crazy.”

“A little bit,” he agrees, in a voice that means he thinks it’s very crazy. He removes the ice pack and shakes his head. “Well, it doesn’t look too bad.”

“Liar,” she says with a slight laugh. “I’ll have to think of a way to distract people from it tomorrow.” 

“You sure you want to go?” Ben asks, ignoring the look Leslie gives him. “I’m just saying.”

“I have to, Ben. If I don’t they’ll think I’ve given up and they’ve won. And I will not let that happen.” 

Ben smiles and pushes her hair from her face, cupping her face, careful not to touch her bruise. “You’re so sexy when you’re determined to kick ass.”

“Yeah?” Am I sexy even with this?” She points to her eye. 

“It’s not my favorite look,” Ben answers, his lips curled downward. “But you’re beautiful with and without a black eye.”

“If I had any depth perception I would kiss you.” 

Ben chuckles and gently presses his lips to hers. She sighs and reaches up to wrap her arms around his neck. He kisses her carefully, making sure he doesn’t bump her cheek. 

They part, out of breath and lips tired. 

“This has melted,” Ben says, picking up the ice pack. “I’ll get you another one.” 

Leslie leans back on the couch and closes her eyes as Ben goes into the kitchen to trade ice packs and check on dinner. Her eye is killing her, her beloved town is trying to drive her mad, but knowing Ben’s love for her is constant makes her feel better. 

She still needs to figure out how she’s going to keep people from noticing her eye though.


	54. Our Love Makes the World Go Round

The first thing Leslie notices when she walks into their house at two is the smell of vanilla. The second thing is music playing in the living room. She walks through the house, expecting to find Ben laying on the couch with a cold towel on his forehead. Instead, she’s greeted by him upright and surrounded by what seems like hundreds of candles, an Al Green album playing in the corner. 

“What is this?” she asks, the vanilla from the candles almost overwhelming, but still lovely. “I thought you left work early because you have a migraine.” 

“I lied,” Ben says, reaching out to take Leslie’s hands. She moves forward, until she’s against him. “I wanted to surprise you.” 

She opens her mouth, but the only thing that comes out is a sob. “You- you-” You beautiful, sexy, generous man, she’s unable to say. Ben just smirks though, understanding her anyway. 

“As for what this is,” Ben says, wiping away her tears,“I figured the triplets are going to be here soon, and we’re probably not going to have any time alone after they’re here, so I wanted one last night alone with my wife.”

Leslie cries harder, throwing her arms around his neck so she can kiss him properly. His hands run over the curve of her belly, stopping when triplet number one kicks as if to say, “Eww, stop it,” but Leslie ignores them, concentrating on the way Ben tastes like cinnamon and spice and the comfort it brings.

The kiss ends far too soon for Leslie’s liking, but she could kiss him forever. But she rests her face against his shoulder, breathing in the scent of fresh soap. They stay this way for the moment, their bodies waving ever so softly to the music. 

“Our love is you and me, baby,” Ben sings, making even more tears escape her eyes. It’s a secret that only she knows, that her husband can really sing. She imagines there are going to be three more people in on it very soon though. 

When the song changes, Ben’s hands start moving, reaching to pull Leslie’s shirt out of her pants. “Tell me about your day.” 

As Leslie tells Ben about Ed’s latest mistake, Ben slowly removes Leslie’s clothes, knowing that it’s less about her being naked, and more about her being comfortable. In fact, she’s pretty sure he has her favorite pair of comfy pants and a t shirt ready to put on her nearby somewhere.

But it doesn’t stop her from hoping that there’s some sexy stuff in between. 

She stands, wearing nothing except her bra and underwear, both which do nothing to make her feel sexy. Ben doesn’t seem to care though, running his hands over her, his touch somehow firm and gentle at the same time. 

“Do I still have feet?” 

Ben looks down and nods. “You still have feet. Cute ones too.” 

Leslie doubts that. She remembers how much Ann’s swelled during her pregnancy, and she was only carrying one child. “That’s good. They hurt so much I can’t actually feel the anymore. Is that weird?”

“Probably,” Ben says, taking her hand and guiding her to the couch. 

“If I sit, I’m not getting back up,” she warns him. “Maybe ever.”

“That’s cool,” he says, sitting on the coffee table, taking her feet into his lap. “I don’t intend for you to move.”

His thumbs press into her feet. It hurts, but in a way that makes her want to say screw sex, this is better. “What about our romantic evening before the babies come?”

“Our romantic evening,” Ben says, moving over to the other foot, “is going to consist of homemade waffles, a game or two of connect four and lots of massages and cuddling.” 

Leslie wipes her face, shaking her head because she can’t believe that this, that he, is real. “What about History Channel documentaries?”

A slow smile crosses Ben’s face as he moves to sit next to her. “Oh, lots,” he says, his lips coming to meet hers.


	55. The Picture

She’s looking for a piece of paper to brainstorm on while Ben takes a shower when she sees the picture on his cork board. She instantly forgets about her desire to brainstorm and takes the picture down to get a closer look at it. 

Leslie remembers everything about the day the picture was taken, from the way the cotton candy tasted and the way the funnel cake stands smelled and how the sun felt just right on her skin. Everything about it was perfect, but the best part was having Ben by her side, not just that day, but all the days leading up to it. He took her panicked phone calls at two am, he went and grabbed lunch for her when she claimed she was too busy to take a break, he listened her ideas and helped her execute every single one of them. 

Most important, he finally learned how special Lil’ Sebastian was. She’s not positive, but Leslie likes to think it was around this time that he really fell in love with Pawnee. 

But as she looks at the picture, seeing herself leaning over the fence to watch Lil’ Sebastian eat his hay, she can’t help but notice Ben’s not looking at the mini horse. No, his focus is completely on her. Everything about his expression screams, “I love you.” 

The shower turns off, but Leslie pays it no mind as she continues to stare at the photograph, her heart racing. 

She wonders just how long he’s been in love with her. She knew he liked her given his constant compliments, but this is different. And she’s holding the proof of it in her hands. 

The door opens and she takes her eyes off the picture long enough to look at him. He’s in a t shirt and pajama bottoms, his hair still wet even though he’s trying to dry it with a towel. His feet are bare. 

He’s ridiculously sexy. And he’s hers. He’s been hers for a long time. 

“Hey,” he says, leaning down to kiss her. He tastes like water and smells like soap and it’s almost enough to make Leslie forget about the picture. 

“I didn’t know you had this.” 

Ben glances at the picture and raises an eyebrow at her. “Really? Because I’ve had it since it was taken.” 

His words, combined with the way his thumb rubs the inside of her palm as he takes the picture away makes her skin feel like it’s on fire. Someday, she’ll find out just how long he’s been in love with her but for right now, she just wants to kiss his face. 

So she does, until they’re both breathless and he’s pushing her down on the bed, his expression dark and wanting. Still, Leslie can’t resist asking, “Because you love Lil’ Sebastian, right?”

“That’s right,” Ben agrees, crawling over her, lips hot on her skin.“Because I love Lil’ Sebastian.”


	56. Ben VS Prom Night

It’s prom night. Ben knows because his sister and her friends have been talking about it non stop for the past six weeks and the calendar on the fridge says PROM NIGHT!!!!!!!!! in big red letters. That and their house is apparently the place they’ve all decided to get ready. 

He’s just glad they have an extra bathroom in the basement. 

Ben’s problem though, isn’t that his house has been taken over by teenage girls. At any given time, there’s usually at least two around. His problem is he can remember his own prom like it was yesterday. He spent most of it in the backseat of his car, trying to find his way under all the satin and taffeta that was his date’s dress. 

And the thought of Stephanie or her friends being in the back seat of a used station wagon makes his stomach revolt. 

At least she and her friends decided to go as a group. So while he doesn’t have to worry about them being felt up (he ignores the voice in his head reminding him that just because they don’t have dates, it doesn’t mean they can’t hook him with someone there.), he does have to listen from there’s girlish shouts of things like, “Have you seen my shoes?” and “I need help painting my nails!” 

One voice though, stands out above all the rest. 

“Ann, what if he doesn’t notice me?” 

Ben shakes his head as Ann assures Leslie that this mystery crush of her’s will notice her. He has no doubt she’s telling the truth. It’s impossible not to notice Leslie Knope. She’s small, but her energy could power a major city. 

The fact that she’s beautiful helps too. 

He’s just not sure if he wants anyone noticing her. The thought of her, arms around some guy’s neck while a terrible cover band plays, a soft smile on her face, makes him want to find this dude and punch his lights out. 

When he hears his mom yell that it’s time to take pictures, Ben decides it’s time to leave his bedroom sanctuary to go see what five hours and complaints about being poked in the eye with eyeliner has turned the girls into. 

They’re gathered in the living room, arms wrapped around each other, smiles on their faces as they pose for pictures. His mom takes a lot, of them in groups and individually. They’re dressed in every color of the rainbow, in different styles and fabrics, yet there’s no doubt that they’re a unit. 

“What do you think?” Stephanie asks Ben, twirling around. “Not bad for 50 bucks, right?”

“Um, yeah,” Ben says, “You look good, kid.” 

She rolls her eyes. “Thanks, Benji.” 

Ben smirks at her and scans his eyes over the group, but soon his eyes fall to Leslie. She’s dressed in a short red dress that emphasizes her legs and her hair is pulled up in a ponytail that he wants to take down with his own two hands. 

She interrupts his thoughts by saying, “Okay girls, does everyone have their clutches?” 

Her friends all hold up black clutch purses. 

“Great! Now make sure you have everything you need! Lipstick, condoms, money-”

“Wait, did you say condoms?” 

Six pairs of eyes glare at him. “Yes,” Leslie says slowly, “Would you rather we get a disease or pregnant?” 

He opens his mouth to say he would rather they no have sex at all, with anyone, ever, but he closes it quickly, not wanting to be murdered by a bunch of teenage girls and his own mother. “No, no. Safety first.” 

Their eyes roll and someone says it’s time to go. One by one they exit, until it’s just Stephanie. She walks over to him and kisses his cheek. “It’ll be okay, Benji,” 

“Don’t drink anything anyone gives you.” 

Their mom closes the door after her. “You should ask her out.” 

Ben crosses his arms. “Ask her out? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Sure you don’t, Benji,” she says, laughing as she pats his arm and walks away.


	57. Beginning, again.

She wasn’t sure who she was expecting when she answered the knock on her door, but out of everyone in the universe, he was the last on her list. But there he was, his hair shorter than the last time, his skin slightly more tanned from the Florida sun. 

Leslie stared, wishing she was wearing something other than a pair of old sweatpants and a t shirt he’d left behind. But, he was there, on her porch wearing a tailored black suit. She also wished she knew what to say, but hello seemed to little and what are you doing here seemed too much. 

So she waited for Ben to speak first, to explain how he could just show up at her door out of nowhere with no warning after five months. 

Five months that’s felt more like five years. 

“I hate Florida,” he said, breaking the silence. “It’s too humid and the insects are the size of my head and every night I sit by the beach and I watch the waves and I reach out to grab your hand but you’re not there.” 

“It’s too hard,” She had said, watching him pack again from his last trip to see her, “watching you come and go when I wish you would stay but I know you won’t, because your dreams are out there.” 

“And I thought about what you said before, about how I couldn’t waste any opportunities and you were absolutely right. That’s why I’m here, to ask you something.” 

The morning he’d left, she’d ironed his shirt for him and gave him a pair of cuff links as a good luck present. In return he gave her kiss and said goodbye. They both understood it was the last present, the last kiss, the last goodbye. 

So why was he standing at her door, saying all these things? 

“I never should have left,” Ben said, reaching into his pocket- “I never should have agreed to take the job-” he fell to one knee- “I should have told Jenn that the only future I wanted was with you-” the box opened, but Leslie couldn’t look at it, she could only stare at his face. His dumb, smiling face. “I never want to sit on a beach without you.” 

She wished she’d washed her hair.

The timer went off in the kitchen, reminding Leslie of the pie she was baking. With a, “Hold that thought,” she ran to get it, not knowing Ben followed until she spun around and he was right there, looking tall and handsome and still holding that box. 

“That smells amazing.”

“It’s apple.” 

“My favorite.”

For a moment, Leslie wondered if it wasn’t fate that she’d made an apple pie today, his favorite pie. It wasn’t fate though. It was necessity. She had 

“I quit, by the way,” he said, “just in case that wasn’t clear.” 

“You love managing campaigns. And you’re meeting all these interesting people- I saw your picture the Miami Herald website with three guys from the Miami Heat, that’s-”

“They’re not you.” 

She knew they weren’t talking about the players from the Heat or the various politicians and bureaucrats, but rather the women, all the tanned and tall, gorgeous women who were lining up at his door to get him. 

If the women in D.C made her jealous, it was nothing compared to way she felt about when she met the women he worked with in Florida. 

Women like Rosa who answered his phone the night she got so drunk that she called him to tell him that she made a mistake. 

That was five months ago. And she was moving on. She wasn’t crying herself to sleep and she wasn’t staring at his picture and she’d finally made it past the point where she could hear the name Ben and not turn to look to see if it was him. 

But here he was, standing in her kitchen and saying he wanted to be with her while she was wearing his old t shirt and socks that didn’t match with a hole in the toe and unwashed hair. 

The weekend before she told him she couldn’t watch him go anymore, she’d called late at night, thinking he would be at his apartment, free to talk, but when he answered, he had to yell just to be heard over the noise and music in the background. 

He’d promised he would call back, but he never did. 

And the next weekend, she ended it because she was sure it was for the best. Because she wanted him to be happy and not have to worry about her. 

“Say something,” Ben said, stepping closer to her, allowing her to smell the lemon soap on his skin, his hand taking hers, thumb drawing circles into her wrist. “Please.”

She didn’t though. She instead fell into him, burying her face in his chest while she remembered walking out of the house she thought they were going to lease for the two minutes before he called to tell her that he’d been offered the job in Florida, and the silent drives to and from the airport and the seashells he collected for her that now sat on her bathroom sink, and the last time she watched him pack and the way her heart broke again and again. 

He drew a heart and their initials into her back, adding the word forever. 

And Leslie lifted her face, knowing that she probably looked like hell with tears staining her cheeks but Ben just grabbed her face and kissed her, making her remember all the other kisses before it, including that last one. 

It would be a lie to think anyone could ever kiss her like Ben. 

It would be a lie to think she could ever love someone the way she loved Ben. 

It would be an even bigger lie to say she ever stopped. She was cursed to love him for the rest of her life. 

Ben’s hair was too short and Leslie wished he had called so she could have showered and changed clothes but the air smelled like apple and cinnamon and she knew that no matter what she said, he wasn’t going anywhere. 

“You have to say the words, I think.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Ben nodded and once again, dropped to his knee, and held out the ring. This time Leslie could look at it. It was perfect, as if made just for her. “Leslie Knope- Will you-”

“Yes.” 

He kissed her and she knew her life was just beginning.


	58. Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diner worker/frequent customer

“Your usual, Leslie?”

“Yes, please,” Leslie replies, giving Ben a smile that goes straight to his heart. “With a coffee.”

Ben raises his eyebrow at her wanting coffee at nine o’clock on a weeknight, but says nothing except for, “You got it. I’ll be right back.“

“Thanks, Ben.”

He smiles and walks past his other tables, checking to make sure their glasses don’t need refilling and goes into the kitchen. It’s only the night cook, Jackson working, jamming to hip hop as he mops the floors.

“We go another one?”

“Leslie’s here.”

“Waffles it is,” Jackson says, jumping off the counter to grab the waffle mix. “I think Collette forgot to refill the whipped cream though, so you’re gonna have to go into the fridge.”

“Yeah, all right.”

Ben goes to the back, but instead of going into the cooler, he goes outside, where he finds a small group of his co-workers, servers, cooks and the busboy, smoking a joint.

“You done yet, Wyatt?”

“Are you kidding?” Mike says before Ben can answer, “Leslie’s here. Our home boy won’t be leaving anytime soon.”

“Funny,” Ben says, lighting a quick cigarette, “Don’t you guys have somewhere else to be?”

They all look at each other and shrug, deciding the area next to the trash bins is more suitable than say, a bar.

“You better go, Wyatt, your lover’s waffles are getting cold.”

Ben glares at Sandra. “Haha.”

“Dude,” Mike says, rubbing his hand over his face, “Just ask her out already.”

Ben ignores them as he puts out his cigarette and goes back inside, grabbing a can of whipped cream before he goes to take Leslie her waffles.

“What are you working on?” Ben asks as he puts her plate in front of her, getting a huge smile in return when he sets the can of whipped cream next to it.

“Pre-Calc.”

“Oh. Well you know I’m pretty good at math, so if you need any pointers I’ll be glad to help,” he says, while he wonders just what in the hell he thinks he’s doing.

The answer is he really doesn’t know.

She says sure, but Ben still has other tables to contend to and he has to clean his section and get everything put down for the night.

“Give me fifteen minutes.”

“Perfect, I’m taking a waffle break anyway.”

“Perfect,” he repeats, walking away from her table.

As soon as the other customers are gone, Ben’s quick to clean off their tables and make sure his section is ready to go for the morning.

Then he ignores the desire to go back outside and ask if someone has anything stronger than a cigarette and sits on the other side of Leslie’s booth.

“Okay, show me what you got.”

She smiles, pushing her now empty plate aside and opens her textbook, pointing out just what it is that’s confusing her. For the next few minutes Ben does his best to explain it to her, but he’s not really thinking about math. He’s thinking about how soft her hair is and how expressive her face is and how she’s always the best part of his day.

And how his friends are right. He should ask her out.

Jackson opens the door and pokes his head out. “I’m closing the kitchen.”

“That’s my cue to leave,” Leslie says, smiling still as she starts to put her things away.

“There’s no rush.”

“Eh, I really should get back home. Mom will worry. And you’re looking pretty tired too, Benjamin.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Ben asks, picking up her dishes.

“Same bat time, same bat channel,” she replies, putting her check and money in the palm of his hand. “Night, Ben.”

“Goodnight, Leslie.”

A voice says go after her as soon as she pushes through the doors and Ben finds himself tearing off his apron and throwing it aside as he runs out to catch her. He calls her name and she turns, surprised but smiling.

“Hey, so um,” he’s asked girls out before, this shouldn’t be so hard. “I was thinking that-”

“Go out with me,” she blurts out, before he can even form the thought in his head, let alone say it.

“What?” Of all the different scenarios he’s played in his head, her asking him out was never one of them. Although now that he thinks about it, it does make perfect sense. This was the same girl who yelled at another customer for smoking, because it was, “a disgusting, filthy habit that’s interfering with the taste of my waffles. And it’s bad for you.”

That reminds him, if they’re going out he’s going to need to quit smoking. Because he’s going to kiss her. A lot.Girls like Leslie Knope deserve to be kissed until their toes curl and they’re breathless.

“Unless you don’t want to. It’s just I like you and I thought maybe we could go see a movie or get a bite-”

“Yeah, sure, that sounds cool,” he tries to sound cool but his smile gives him away. “I have Saturday off.”

“Great. I um, better go. Thanks again for the help,” she says, touching his arm, making him want to push her against her sedan and see if that spot beneath her ear is as kissable as it looks.

“No problem. See you tomorrow?” Ben asks as she opens her door.

“Same bat time." 

"Same bat channel,” Ben finishes. She grins and he goes back inside to finish his shift.


	59. collarbone

They’ve been working for hours. His tie is undone, the first three buttons undone. His undershirt peaks out, but Leslie can still see a bit of his collarbone covered by pale skin that needs to be touched by her lips. 

She distracts herself by suggesting they asking if Ben’s sure they have enough cotton candy machines. 

“We’ve got six already,” Ben says, looking at the sheet of paper in his hand. His big hands with long fingers that could- No, she’s got to focus. “But I’ll see what I can do.” 

Leslie smiles, and for a moment she allows herself the fantasy of unbuttoning the rest of his shirt, fingers drawing a line from the center of his collar to his shoulders, pushing his shirt off before she bites his skin with her teeth. 

“It’s getting late,” he says, “We should call it a night.” 

Leslie pushes down her disappointment. Ben’s right, they can’t spend all night in her office planning every single detail of the festival, but really that’s only part of the reason she doesn’t want the evening to end. The truth is the more she gets to know Ben, the more she likes him. Sure, he is a bit of a fascist hard ass sometimes, but he’s also smart and his puns are funny and he’s ridiculously good looking and smells like vanilla ice cream and- 

She’s just the right height to kiss his collar bone. 

He walks her to her car in the parking garage. When she turns to thank him after opening her door, Leslie realizes he’s close enough that if she wanted, she could kiss that bit of skin. 

He smiles back at her, stepping away just enough that she can’t reach.“I’ll see you in the morning, Leslie.” 

She waves. It seems like a decent alternative to jumping him. “See you, Ben.”


	60. belly button kiss

For a minute he panics, thinking there’s an intruder or she’s gone into labor already. It’s too early. Way too early, even for triplets, but then he sees her face, lit up by the lamp on her side of the bed. She’s smiling. 

It calms him, but not enough.“Leslie?” 

“One of them just kicked,” she says, taking his hand and placing it on her belly. He can’t feel anything, just the warmth of her skin, but knowing they’re not in danger makes his heart stop racing. 

“Ugh, and now they’re not doing anything. It happened, Ben.” 

“I believe you,” he says, laying back down so he’s near her stomach. He lifts her shirt higher, revealing more skin. For a minute he stares, trying to picture their three children in there, growing into actual human beings that can now kick. 

It’s still hard for him to wrap his head around.

So he rests his cheek on her, lips brushing across her bellybutton as he says, “I love you,” and stays there until he falls asleep again.


	61. doomed

It was at this moment that Ben knew he was doomed. Never before, in all of his years on the road had he ever met anyone who was able to get under his skin the way Leslie Knope did. It was as if she’d crawled into his brain and refused to leave, requesting meetings and sending him memos and comparing him to dictators. She was a pain in the ass. A short, blonde, cute pain in the ass who made him feel punch drunk. 

Ben tried his best to fight back, to make her see that there wasn’t enough money in the budget for the moon, even though he would have gladly given it to her if it was in his power.

But she never backed down. Anyone else would have accepted, would have waited it out or started to look for a new job. 

Leslie Knope was different though. She put on concerts. She wrote ideas in color coded binders. She rallied her co-workers and gave presentations that made Chris cry. (Though admittedly this wasn’t hard to do.) 

She threw a pumpkin at him and mouthed “Thanks” when he relented. 

And now, she was giving a speech, winning over the business owners of Pawnee even though just ten minutes earlier she was introducing herself a painting. 

It was then Ben knew he was doomed. She was in his mind and in his heart and there was no getting her out. 

Even more shocking was the realization he didn’t mind.


	62. jealousy

Ben watches, leaning against the doorway as Leslie pulls Westley from her breast, covering herself up with one hand as she holds him against her chest with the other. She has a towel on her shoulder already, and for a few moments she walks around, humming softly until he burbs. 

“Oh that was a good one,” she says, wiping Westley’s face. “Mommy is very proud of you.” 

A diaper and onesie change later, Leslie places him into his section of the triple crib and whispers, “Goodnight, mommy and daddy love you.” 

Ben watches this, just as he watched her feed Sonia and Stephen, just as he’s watched her for the last few weeks they’ve been in their lives. They don’t do much, just sleep, eat and poop. 

Except he can already tell they like her more. 

And he doesn’t blame them, not really. He likes Leslie too. More than anyone. Yes, even more than Ann. 

It could be lack of sleep talking, but he’s not sure if he’s jealous of Leslie, the triplets or both. 

And he hates to even think of himself as jealous. He doesn’t want to trade places with her or the triplets. He’s not resentful or envious. 

He just wishes his children liked him and that he could have five minutes alone with his wife without being interrupted, or her falling asleep on him. 

Although, he really doesn’t mind that last part so much. 

“I need a shower,” she says, yawning. “if I don’t come out in ten minutes, come wake me up.” 

He grabs her hand and pulls her back. “I’m smelly,” she warns, but he doesn’t care. He just wants five minutes. Two minutes. Thirty seconds. 

Her hands come up his chest and her arm wrap around his neck as he rests his face on her hair. It’s true, she has smelled better, but he’s not offended by the odor. 

She pulls away way too soon for his liking. “I’ll be right back,” she promises, lips slowly caressing his for a moment. He reluctantly lets her go and while she’s in the bathroom, he changes into his night clothes and settles in the bed with his book. 

He’d join her, but one of them has to be ready in case one or more of them want something. 

Although, he’s not really sure what they would want with him. 

Leslie comes out of the bathroom in her robe, drying her hair with a towel while she gathers her clothes from the dresser. The robe falls to the floor and he takes in the sight of her back as she pauses to rub ointment on her scar. 

She pulls a t shirt over her head and grabs a pair of his thickest socks from his sock drawer and comes to the bed to put them on. 

“I’m gonna have to buy you new socks,” Ben says. 

“I’d still just steal yours,” she replies, getting herself comfortable against him. He breathes her in, smelling soap and lavender. For the moment, he counts his blessings. At least, for this brief moment, he has her. Awake and alone. 

“You going to tell me what’s wrong?” she asks, drawing figure eights into his thigh. 

“It’s stupid.” 

“I doubt that,” Leslie says, wrapping her arms around his torso.”Come on, you’ve been sulking all day.”

Has he? He really thought he was doing a good job of hiding his emotions. Maybe he’s more tired than he thought. 

“Fine.” Ben exhales. “I’m jealous.” 

She looks at him, face scrunching. “Of who? Is it of Ed because I told you, he might be good looking but he’s even more incompetent than Terry.” 

“No, not of Ed.” Ben sighs. “Of the triplets. And you.”

“You’re jealous of me? Why?”

“Um, because they like you more?” Ben closes his eyes, waits for Leslie’s offended gasp. It doesn’t come though. 

She laughs against his chest instead. Because it’s not the reaction he expected, he doesn’t know how to respond. 

“I’m not laughing at you,” she says, wiping her hands across her face. “I’m laughing because I feel the same way.” 

All Ben can say is, “Huh?” 

“They don’t really like me,” Leslie says. “I’m just a walking milk factory to them. You, however, have absolutely nothing to offer them and yet they adore you. Stephen stares at you and Westley smiles whenever you make silly faces at him and you’re the only one who can get Sonia to sleep. They love you.” She pauses, staring at him with glassy eyes. “I love you.” 

“I love you,” Ben says, feeling somehow lighter and tighter at the same time.

She continues to touch him, both over an under his shirt. Her hands are warm and soft and kind of distracting. “And I know you think I’m some kind of super hero, but I couldn’t do this without you. Just think, in a blink of an eye they’re going to be walking and talking and becoming the first triplets to sit on the Supreme court at the same time.” 

Ben chuckles. “Yeah.” 

She kisses his cheek. “Thank you for being on my team.” 

“You’re welcome.” 

They kiss, slow and careful at first, but like everything they do together, it builds until he’s pulling her into his lap. Her hand is sliding down his stomach, reaching for him, when they hear a sharp cry come from the monitor. 

She falls against him. 

“That’s an I’m hungry cry,” he says, as he starts to craw off him. 

“A milk factory’s job is never done,” Leslie replies, yawning. 

“No,” Ben pulls her back on the bed. “You sleep. I’ve got this,” he tells her, getting up. There’s milk in the fridge. Whoever it is will just have to be content with that. 

“You sure?” 

“I’m sure,” Ben answers, kissing her forehead before he starts to leave the room. He hears her say he’s the best husband ever, but when he turns around, she’s draped across the bed, completely asleep. He smiles, grateful he got more five minutes alone with her. 

Another sharp cry pulls him reminds there’s still more to do.


	63. counting

Leslie finds Ben on the couch with his eyes closed, his feet on the coffee table next to his glass of wine. She moves the glass out of the way so he doesn’t accidentally knock it over, then she takes an afghan off the back of the couch, settles in next to him, throwing the afghan over their bodies. 

Her intention is to work or watch the news, but Ben’s body is warm and the way his body rises and falls with each breath is all too relaxing. So she leaves the remote and binders on the table and counts every beat of his heart instead. 

“They asleep?”

It takes Leslie a moment to realize Ben’s talking and she isn’t just imagining his voice in her head. “Oh. Yeah.” 

“Good. I-” 

Leslie looks up, only to see Ben’s fallen asleep again. She smiles, thinks of how he spent the whole night before singing a restless Sonia to sleep. Gratitude fills her, for Ben coming into her life and being the best team mate she could ask for and she kisses his chest and goes back to counting.


	64. painting class

"I'm so sorry I'm late," Leslie tells the teacher, a woman wearing a long patchwork skirt and an apron covered in paint hand prints, her greying hair up in a bun. The woman smiles, shaking her head as if to say she rather expected at least one person to be late. Looking around, Leslie sees that the room is already mostly full, with most of the easels already claimed. she gives the teacher another apologetic smile and heads toward an empty easel, between a guy with messy hair and the woman Leslie recognizes from the Krogers near her house. She smiles at her as she puts her canvas on the easel, saying, "Hi," only for the woman to scowl and look away. 

"Don't feel bad," the guy says,"she glared at me too." 

Leslie laughs, looking at the guys face. His incredibly good looking face. There's something recognizable about him though, making her wonder if she knows him from somewhere, but as she goes through the list of places they could have met, none of them fit. 

And she realizes the teacher is talking so she stops and listens as intently as she can, now hoping she doesn't make a fool of herself on the first day. 

They're told to draw something in the room that interests them. She glances around, trying to find something that's both interesting and easy enough for her to draw, but she keeps coming back to the face of the man beside her. 

She wonders if it would be rude of her to paint him as she watches him sketch a bicycle wheel. 

"I'm Leslie." Maybe if he says his name she'll remember where she knows him from. 

"Ben," he replies, erasing a line only to redraw it the same exact way. He glances at her blank canvas. "Can't decide what to do?"

"Oh, well," she feels crimson. "I was kind of hoping I could do you?"

She still doesn't know why he seems so familiar to her. 

He smirks, one eyebrow meeting his hairline. "You want to do me?"

"Not do you, do you, but paint you-" she stops, shaking her head. "Sorry, forget it." 

"No, go ahead. I'm flattered. How do you want me?"

Other than possibly on her bed, Leslie has no idea. She's never been very good at drawing profiles but given how they're standing, she's not sure she has a choice. "Oh, um-"

"I'm done with this, so if you want me to face you-"

"Thanks," she says, relieved as he turns toward her. Leslie does her best to sketch him as quickly as possible, as the teacher walks around the room and talks to the students, helping them. "So," she asks, "what made you decide to take painting for adults?"

"My new year's resolution was to do something I've never done before. It was either this or skydiving."

"I think you made the safer choice," Leslie says, trying to get the shape of Ben's eyes just right. Maybe he just has one of those faces that makes you think you know them. 

"I don't know, paint fumes make me kind of dizzy," he replies, with that smirk she's determined to capture. "What about you?"

"It's a long story," Leslie says, "But I'm the deputy director of the Parks and Recreation department and I try to take at least one rec class each season and I already took basket weaving and there was no way I was taking accounting for beginners." 

He scowls for a second, but it fades in an instant, making Leslie wonder if she imagned it. "Right. Well I'm glad you picked this class, Leslie. Otherwise I'd have talk to Ms. Fuddy Duddy."

Ms. Fuddy Duddy glares at them again. 

"Very good work, you two," the teacher says, patting both of their shoulders. "A portrait is very ambitious. Good luck!"

"What do you think she means by that?" Leslie asks when the teacher is out of hearing range. 

"I think she means if you don't get my eye color just right, she'll fail you." 

"Don't joke about that. I've never failed anything."

"Well then you better do a good job," he says, his smile giving her butterflies. 

Leslie smiles back and finishes her sketch. "Okay, you can move now. I'm sorry that took so long."

"I'm not," Ben says, "I got to look at you. Maybe I should rethink this wheel." 

"Oh. Well I suppose that would be fair," Leslie agrees, her heart pounding against her chest. "If you want to." 

"Yeah, I want to," he says, voice soft and eyes warm as he turns the page of his pad over. Leslie stands, nervous as Ben comes closer to her, placing his hands on her shoulders, moving her just a little bit before asking her to stay. 

She'll stay as long as she has to. After all, she still hasn't figured out where she knows him from. 


	65. batting cage

"I thought I would find you here," Leslie says, walking into the batting cage. "I tried your house but Andy and Chris said you weren't home." 

"Yeah," Ben shrugs as he puts more quarters into the ball machine. "You might want to move out of the way." 

Leslie sits on the bench and watches as Ben squares off, ready for the first pitch. The ball comes and he swings too late, a string of curses following. 

"Ben-"

He ignores her and swings again, also missing. Leslie doesn't know much about baseball, but she's pretty sure he's too tense. 

"Ben, I think you-"

"What, Leslie? What do you think I should do?" 

His tone is a dagger in her heart. "Well for one thing," Leslie says, standing up and crossing her arms over her chest, "You don't stand your girlfriend up on your anniversary. And second-" 

"I'm sorry," he says, dropping the bat to the ground and just like that her anger vanishes. "I'm sorry. I know I've been an asshole, but I'm doing this for us, Leslie. I have to get signed or otherwise-"

"Or otherwise, what?" Leslie asks, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You're going to wow those scouts tomorrow and you're going to get signed and even if you aren't, I'll still love you."

"Even though I'm a jerk?"

"I figured you were a jerk the first day I met you," Leslie says, leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss him, "and it hasn't scared me away yet." Her lips brush his and as his hands twist in her hair, she feels the tension leaving his body. "Okay," she says, picking up his bat and handing it to him. "If you hit a homer tomorrow, I'll do that thing you like."

His lips curl upward."What if I hit two?"

"Then I'll do it twice." She winks and goes back to sit on the bench to enjoy the show. 


	66. spending the day in bed

"This is stupid," Leslie says for the third time that hour alone. "I should be out there, planting trees-"

"And cracking skulls," Ben finishes for her. "I know. But you know what Dr. Saperstein said. You need to rest." 

"But I'm bored," Leslie whines. "I tried skyping with April about the Voyageur's national park project, but she hung up on me."

"That's because it's Saturday. babe." 

Leslie groans, hitting her head on the wall. "See, I don't even know what day it is anymore."

Ben lifts her hand, kissing the knuckles. "Tell you what. What if I went and got us some waffles and we spent the day watching movies and making out?" 

"I would say that sounds like how I got pregnant."

He laughs and gives her a kiss. "Well at least we don't have to worry about that part. I'll be right back." 

"Hurry. We're hungry."

"You got it," he says, kissing her again before he leaves. 

Leslie sighs and picks up her latest biography about Eleanor Roosevelt. "Okay, where were we?" she asks, rubbing her bump before she starts to read. 

Ben comes back twenty minutes later, with the bag from JJ's in one hand and a stack of DVD's in the other. He puts a dvd in and sits next to her, giving her her waffles and tub of whipped cream before opening his own container. 

She rolls her eyes at the familiar yellow scroll. "You're trying to torture me, aren't you?"

"You're going to love it, Leslie. Trust me." He does a weird hand wavy motion she's afraid she's going to understand very soon. 

She glares, wanting to say it was because she trusted him that she got in her current state, but the smell of waffles and whipped cream distracts her. That and he's sitting next to her, kissing her temple before opening his own container. 

"Fine. But I'm picking the next movie." 

"Deal," Ben says. 

-

"I didn't fall asleep again, did I?"

"Yes, but don't worry, I paused it," Ben says, flipping through the pages of his book. "So then Batman squares off against the Joker in an alley-" 

"Oh great." 

He closes the book and tilts his head at her. "Are you okay?" 

She nods and snuggles against him, needing to be closer. "Yeah, it's just some back pain. You can start the movie again if you want." 

"Would you rather I keep reading?" Ben asks. 

"Yes, please." She rests her head on his chest and closes her eyes. 

-

"I want a sundae," she says half way through "A League of Their Own," "With sprinkles and whipped cream and hot fudge. And a cherry! No, three cherries!" 

"I can do that," Ben agrees. "But you're only getting one this time. None of that I'm eating for four stuff." 

"You have no sense of fairness, Ben Wyatt," she says, but it's hard to be mad at him when he's kissing her. 

She picks up the Eleanor Roosevelt biography and reads until he returns. 

-

Leslie puts the bowl on her bump. It has three cherries just like she requested. "Look, I'm my own table!" 

Ben just laughs and pushes play on the remote. "You're a cute table."

Not for the first time today, she finds herself wanting to make out with him on his face. As soon as she's done with her sundae, she does just that. 

-

His lips are on her neck, his hand on her side when one the triplets kicks, then another. 

"Great. You gave them a sugar high."

Leslie laughs and rubs her stomach. "Maybe you should read to us again."

"Okay," he leaves long enough to find his copy of "Lord of the Rings." 

-

"Your back still hurting?"

"Yeah. It keeps coming and going though," she answers. 

"You want a back rub or a hot pad?"

"No," she says, laying her head on his chest again, "I just want you to hold me." 

"I can do that," he promises, and she lets his warmth lull her back to sleep. 

-

"I need to get up. I have to pee." 

"No problem," Ben says, getting out of the bed to walk over to her side. She gives him her hands and on the count of three, he pulls her up, keeping his hands in hers until she's stable enough to walk to the bathroom on her own. 

And then her water breaks. 

"Oh," she says, looking at the floor. "Great." 

"Huh," Ben says, sounding calmer than she imagined he'd be. "So does this mean we won't watch "Return of the Jedi?"


	67. amusement park

The sun beats down on Leslie’s skin, but it’s the way Ben’s lips touch her neck that makes her feel hot. His arms holding her tight as they wait in line, hands resting just above her jeans. 

“Having fun?” he asks as the line moves forward. 

“Yeah,” she answers. She’s been to Six Flags so many times, and as watched while other couples make out while they wait in line, but never did she actually think she’d be one of them. 

And she never thought it would be with Ben. Ben who she’s known since seventh grade and has called her a pain in the ass more than once. But here she is, waiting to get on the American Eagle and Ben’s hand is on her ass. 

Who knew one tutoring session would lead to a fight over who would win in a fight, Gandalf or Dumbledore, which lead to hard core making out, and him asking if she wanted to go with him to Six Flags? 

The line moves again and they reach the front, stopped by the kid who holds his hand up. 

Leslie glances over at where Ann and Chris are kissing two lines from them. Ben looks over as well. 

“Oh, well they’re getting a long.” 

Leslie laughs. “Yeah.” 

“Are you okay?”

“Oh yeah. I’m just a little nervous about roller coasters.’ It’s a lie, she’s never been scared of roller coasters, not even as a kid, but the truth feels harder to explain. How is she supposed to tell Ben that she’s scared of him? Not in a she fears he’s going to harm her way, but in a she could easily fall for him and he could easily break her heart kind of way. 

Saying she’s scared of roller coasters much easier. 

Ben smiles and leans down, kissing her so softly she barely feels his lips touch hers. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, babe. I’m here.” 

She knows he’s talking about the ride, but his words feel like they have a much deeper meaning. 

The car comes back, the people get off and the kid waves them through, allowing them to get on. 

She’s strapped in, heart pounding with anticipation. Ben smiles at her as the operator tells them to keep their hands inside at all times and then they’re off. 

It’s terrifying and exhilarating and wonderful and over far too soon. 

She hopes its not a metaphor for her relationship with Ben, if they are in a relationship. 

“Chris and I want to go to Logger’s Run,” Ann tells them as they exit. “You coming?”

“Actually, I think we’re going to pass for now,” Ben says, taking Leslie’s hand in his. She looks up at him, surprised he would say no. “I want to win you a stuffed animal.” 

Okay. Groping each other in line is one thing, but him winning her a giant stuffed animal? That’s too much. That’s the kind of thing that makes her think he’s not just in this for the sex, or potential sex, not that they’re having it, or will. 

Oh who is she kidding? She would totally put out for him. 

She catches Ben and Chris agree on a meeting place and the next thing she knows, he’s pulling her in the other direction before she can even say goodbye to them. 

“You know these games are rigged,” she says when they stop at a booth.

“Are you forgetting that I play baseball?” Ben asks, smirking. 

That doesn’t encourage her. She’s seen him play, and his throwing is not that great. But he looks really cute in his uniform. 

“You’re right. I should never doubt you.” 

He gives her a kiss and hands the guy a five. 

Somehow, ten dollars later, Ben knocks three pins down. “You can have anything from the bottom row,” the guy says, gesturing at the wall. Everything is rather small, and most are licensed characters, but she’s happy when she sees the tiny Batman plush. 

“I’ll take Batman.” 

The attendant hands her Batman and tells them to have a nice night before going over to the next customer. 

“Sorry I couldn’t win you a giant teddy bear.”

“Are you kidding?” she asks, hugging Batman to her chest. “Batman is way better. I will cherish him forever.” 

Leslie’s glad she took a breath before his lips are on hers, because the kiss feels like it lasts forever. She’s also vaguely aware they’re blocking the way, but her only thought is that they can walk around them. 

“So,” he says, sounding almost as ragged as she is, “ready for a funnel cake sundae?”

“Always,” Leslie says, and he takes her hand again. 

They’re eating their funnel cake sundae when Ann and Chris join them at the table. Ann’s holding a giant purple hippo, but Leslie hugs her Batman tighter. 

“So what next?” Ann asks. “bumper cars?”

“Okay,” Leslie says, hopping up but Chris shakes his head. 

“You two go,” Ben says, “We’ll wait for you here.” 

“Okay,” Leslie says again as Ben lifts his head for a kiss. “Watch after Batman.”

“You got it.” 

Ann takes her arm and they head off toward the bumper cars. 

“So,” Ann says as they stand in line. “You and Ben.” 

“Yep.”

“You’re freaking out, aren’t you?”

“I’m spinning out of control, just like that car right there.” 

Ann shakes her head as she pats Leslie’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. Ben is totally into you.” 

Leslie grins back at Ann as they’re allowed into the rink to pick their cars. Ann’s right. Ben is totally into her. He wouldn’t have spend fifteen dollars to win her Batman if he didn’t. 

When she comes back, Chris is by himself, their prizes on the table. He beams at Ann as if she’s the low fat frozen yogurt he’s eating and kisses her when she sits next to him. 

Leslie however, remains standing. “Where’s Ben?”

“Oh, he’s talking to that girl over there,” Chris points and Leslie looks, seeing Ben talk to a rather pretty brunette. 

All she can think is she should have known better. 

She finally sits, and not wanting to look at Ben and the girl or Ann’s pitying gaze, Leslie stares at the scuff mark on her shoes. 

This is definitely the most humiliating way she’s ever been dumped. 

“They’re coming over,” Ann warns her, as if Leslie can do anything except sit and wait for Ben to dump her. 

“Hey, this is Cindy. She lives in Partridge.” 

Right. Partridge. Where Ben spends half his summers fishing with his dad and brother and every other Christmas. 

“Hi,” Leslie says, smiling at Cindy because she doesn’t want to seem rude. 

“This is my girlfriend Leslie,” Ben says, “and our friends Chris and Ann.” 

There’s small talk between the four of them that Leslie doesn’t listen to, because Ben called her his girlfriend and not, ‘the girl I was making out with forty minutes ago but would gladly push off the top of Goliath to be with you.’ 

And his arm is draped over her shoulder and he’s playing with her hair. The knot in her stomach slowly untwists. 

Cindy leaves, telling Ben to call her sometime. Leslie’s stomach twists into knots as Ben says, “Oh yeah sure,” but as soon as she’s gone, he’s groans and says, “In her dreams.”

“You’re not friends?” 

Ben laughs at Chris’ question. “Are you kidding? Cindy is a total- no.” He turns to Leslie, brushing the hair out of her eyes as he says, “I missed you.” 

“I missed you too.” His lips taste like powdered sugar and vanilla ice cream and she’s the only girl who will get to know that. 

“Want to go ride the Dark Knight?” he asks, lips still on hers. 

“You bet,” she answers, grabbing Batman as Ben takes her hand to lead her away, Ann and Chris following behind.


	68. 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> inspired by the 1D song!

They meet at Bobby Olson’s 18th birthday party. Ben’s leaning against the wall half listening to Shauna as she tells him about her latest dating failure when she walks in, wearing a pink cardigan over a white blouse, her hair up in a pony tail. 

She’s flanked by two of her friends. She beams at someone and waves and Ben’s heart jumps out of his chest. 

“Who is that?” 

Shauna turns to look, and when she turns back to answer, her smile slightly dimmed for reasons Ben chooses not to acknowledge. “Oh, that’s Leslie Knope.” 

Leslie Knope. He knows the name, and as she moves closer he can definitely recognize her face from the halls of their school, but he’s never put two and two together. 

“Dude,” Someone hits him on his shoulder. He rubs it, glaring at Andy even though he’s pretty sure it was his girlfriend that hit him. “You know Leslie! You and her went out in third grade.” 

Ben thinks back at third grade. There’s Mrs. Groksinksi’s math class, his report on honeybees, his parents divorce, being a reindeer in the Christmas pageant. 

He doesn’t remember going out with anyone, let alone Leslie Knope. 

“You don’t remember going out with her?” Tom asks, shaking his head. “That’s baller.” 

“That’s because we didn’t actually go out,” Leslie says, and Ben has no idea how she’s there since he watched her go into the kitchen, but he never saw her come out. But there she is, drinking out of a Sprite can. 

“Thanks,” Ben tells her, “I knew I didn’t go out with anyone in third grade.”

“Because we were set up by Lindsey Carlisle Shay and we were supposed to meet on the playground only you never showed and the next day she told me you wanted to break up.” Her head tilts, considering. “I’m beginning the whole thing was just one of Lindsey’s jokes.” 

“Yeah. Because I would have definitely met you at the playground.” 

Leslie smiles while their friends groan and turn away. Ben doesn’t care about them though. In that moment there’s only Leslie, her pink cardigan and her smile. 

-

They end up talking all night outside, just the two of them and the six couples making out. Ben does his best to ignore them, but between the moans and bare skin he feels like he’s in a porno. 

“I feel like we’re in one of those one of these things doesn’t belong cartoons.” 

“You want to join?” 

Leslie giggles. “What’s in the cup?” 

He looks down at the barely there amount of beer he has left. “Beer.”

“Then not tonight,” Leslie says. “Later. When you’re sober.” 

“There’s going to be a later?” he asks, hopeful he’s not just imagining that whatever he’s feeling isn’t one sided. 

“Of course,” she answers, kissing his cheek and it's everything. 

Later, she hugs him goodbye. He's hugged a lot of girls before; his mom, sister, various girlfriends, but he's pretty sure his arms were made to hold Leslie Knope specifically. 

"That couple having sex behind that bush are less gross than you are," Tom tells him, before yelling, "Damn it, Jerry! Put some pants on."

Ben walks away before he can hear Jerry's, "Oh geez." 

-

She calls him the next day after lunch. They end up talking until six, when his dad comes into his room and yells at him for jacking up the phone bill 

“I’m sorry,” Leslie says, and he pictures her face turning red, “Tell your dad I’ll go halfsies on the bill.”

“No, it’s okay,” Ben replies, “But I should go. Do you uh, wanna do something tomorrow after school?”

“I have gymnastics until four but we can do something after. Why don’t we meet at the playground in Ramsett Park after?” 

“Sounds good.” 

“So, who’s the girl, Benny?” his dad asks while he cuts into his steak, red juices running on the plate. 

“Just a girl,” Ben says, not wanting to say she’s the girl. 

But she is. The Girl. 

He sees her the next day at school in the hallway. He waves and she waves back, turning to giggle with her friends when they think he can’t hear them. 

“You’ve got it bad,” Andy says. 

Ben shrugs. “Yeah. I guess I do.”

“I like Leslie,” April says. “She’s nice. So don’t fuck up.” 

Waiting the extra hour and a half to see her is agonizing, and gives Ben way too much time to think of all the ways he can fuck it up. He hasn’t felt this way about a girl in well- probably ever-and he doesn’t want to ruin it. 

If Henry were here, he’d slap Ben on the back of his head and tell him to get over himself. 

He would be right too. So Ben pulls himself together and checks to make sure he doesn’t smell. 

He wishes he had a cigarette or something to drink, just to calm his nerves. 

But then he sees her, running toward him and all the nerves go away. 

“Hi,” 

“Hi.” 

They get ice cream cones and walk through the park. She tells him all of her plans for the future. She’s going to study History at Indiana, she’s going to get a job in local government and work her way up, becoming a city council woman, the mayor, the governor of Indiana and finally the president. 

“Wow,” Ben says, “You’re going to Indiana? Me too.” 

“Yeah,” Leslie says, sounding slightly bewildered. “You know, usually when I tell guys my plans they say something mean.”

“Why would I do that?” Ben asks, taking her free hand into his. “If anyone can do those things, it’s you.” 

There it is again, that beaming smile he’s going to call his from now on. 

When they reach the playground again, she sits on a swing and he sits on the one beside her. Their fingers brush until finally Ben just takes Leslie’s hand, lacing their fingers together. 

“What do you want to do, Ben?” 

Spend forever with her. 

“I don’t know. I like numbers. And helping people. Maybe run for office.” 

“Good,” Leslie says, “And what about right now?”

He answers her by cupping her cheek and kissing her until they’re out of breath. 

“That.” 

She smiles and there’s nothing else.


	69. One Dance

He can do this. All he has to do is walk up to her, say, “Would you like to dance?” and if she says yes, then they’ll dance and hopefully he won’t accidentally hit her and she’ll want to dance with him again and maybe there will be a slow dance and she’ll fall in love with him. 

And if she says no, he’ll laugh it off and say he was joking and then go and hide for the next six weeks until they graduate high school and then he’ll move away forever. 

It’s really simple. 

All he has to do is walk over to her. First step, stand up from the bleachers. Second step, make steps toward her. Third step- 

“Hi!”

He jumps out of his seat. How did she get over there? Wasn’t she talking to her friends by the brownie table? He did not plan for this. 

“Um, hey. Hey.”

“You don’t look like you’re having fun.”

“No, I uh, was resting. From all the fun.” God, could he be any more of an idiot?

“Oh. Well you should get out there and dance,” she says just as the Village People’s “YMCA” starts. “Oh this is so fun!” 

“We could-” Dance together goes unheard as she runs out to the middle of the gymnasium, surrounded by her friends. 

It’s okay. This is a bad song anyway.   
Nearby, he hears laughter. It’s too familiar and it sends a shiver down his spine. Slowly, he turns and takes in the other senior. He’s wearing a windbreaker and smells like cigarettes. In that moment, Garth’s never hated Ben more. Because he knows Ben. Ben likes comics and sci-fi just as much as he does, and he’s actually played D&D with him and Barney once a month for the last four years. He’s a nerd, just like him. 

But unlike Garth, Ben actually got the girl. 

“Hi, Ben.” 

“Hey, Garth.” Ben smirks at him, like he can read Garth’s mind before he turns his attention to the floor. “You can hardly see her.” 

“Who?” Maybe if he pretends he doesn’t know who Ben’s talking about, he can leave with whatever dignity he has left. 

Ben smirks again. “You gonna ask her to dance?”

“Uh-”

He laughs. “Dude, it’s cool. It’s prom and you’ll regret it if you don’t.” 

“You don’t mind?” This has to be a trap. Ben isn’t the kind of guy who just shares his girlfriend- unless- 

“Wait, did you break up with Leslie Knope? Did she break up with you? I thought she seemed a little sad!” 

Ben stares at him, incredulous. “No. I’m being nice.” 

Oh. Well now he’s definitely sure its a trap. “Um, in that case-”

“Ben!” Leslie runs over, throwing her arms around him and planting her lips to his before Ben can even catch her. He does though, arms circling around Leslie’s waist. 

Garth’s heart falls. Even if he did manage to get Leslie to dance with him, she would be thinking about Ben the entire time. 

“Hey,” Ben says when they part, “Garth wants to ask you something-”

“No, I’m okay,” Garth says, standing up to go somewhere, anywhere else. 

“You sure?” Ben asks, and Garth tries not to notice how Leslie’s looking at him, curious. 

“Yeah, I’m sure.” He walks away, hoping there are other Leslie Knopes in the sea.


	70. fight

Usually when they fight, it’s hard to remember why the next day. It’s as if the night has wiped the slate clean and in the morning there’s just her husband, making breakfast for her and the kids. Even if she feels the lingering affects of the fight, the reason feels less important. 

Today though, Leslie remembers every single detail. She can recall perfectly how she felt the moment she found out Ben lied to her, the weird combination of haze of joy and sadness. And maybe that’s why she can remember why they fought, because she isn’t angry at him for keeping April’s secret. 

She’s sad. 

She’s sad that he didn’t seem to mind lying to her for months. 

She’s sad the didn’t trust her to be supportive. 

And yes, okay Leslie can understand why they thought she might freak out, considering how she freaked out, but if April had just come to her or if Ben said, “Hey, you might want to talk about April, I think something’s bothering her,” then she might have reacted better. 

But really, she’s just sad to think she can’t fully trust Ben again. Because what other secrets has he kept from her? What secrets will he keep?

She can’t look at his face without wondering why. 

So she avoids him. She kisses and plays with the triplets and then buries herself in work. 

He shows up at lunch time. Out of her window she can see him talk to April. She watches the exchange carefully. It’s not that she thinks there’s something to be suspicious of, it’s just that she’s curious why Ben promised her he would lie to Leslie. 

Why he jumped teams. 

He closes the door behind him and she jumps, too in her head to pay attention to his movements. 

“I know you’re still mad-”

“I’m not mad.” 

“But we need to talk.”

“I’m not mad, Ben,” she says, and there must be something about her voice that makes him believe her because his shoulders fall and the expression on his face turns from annoyance to something closer to devastation. 

She knows because it’s exactly what she’s feeling right now. 

“We still need to talk though.” 

Leslie’s not sure she’s ready to talk. Not yet. But maybe she can listen. Maybe he’ll tell her why. 

He sits on the couch and pats the cushion next to his. “Please sit over here.”

She almost refuses, but he asks her again and she complies, sitting as far from him as she can. “Okay,” she says “Talk. Tell me why you lied to me and why you chose her over me.”

“I didn’t choose her over you.You know that I wouldn’t do that.” The tension in his voice is back. She wonders if having this conversation at her office is a good idea. 

“You lied to me for her.”

Ben sighs, his hand covering his face. “Fine. You’re right. I did that and I regret it. I am.”

“But?”

His eyes meet hers and for the first time since she came home, she looks into them and only sees regret. 

“I don’t know,” he says, turning and leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “I just know that she isn’t my biggest fan but she loves you and it took me along time for me to get here and I wanted to help.” He looks at her again, but she can barely see him past the tears. 

“I hated lying to you.” 

Leslie exhales, though it’s something closer to a sob and she nods, wiping her face. “Okay.” 

“Do you believe me?”

She nods again. “Yeah.” She stands up and walks back over to her desk. “I need some time to think though, because there’s still some things-”

“Tell me now.”

“No,” she says, “Not yet. I’m not ready. But later, we’ll sit down and we’ll talk about everything.”

Ben sighs, sounding resigned as he agrees to wait. “Okay. Don’t work late. I’m making pancakes for dinner.”

She laughs.“You really are sorry, aren’t you?”

He doesn’t answer. He just smiles in the doorway and says, “I love you.” 

And when he leaves, he doesn’t stop at anyone’s desk.


	71. perfect

“Do you know what day is tomorrow?” Leslie asks, sitting next to her husband in their bed. The kids are in bed, the windows are open, allowing the breeze to come in, she’s ahead on all of her projects. It’s a perfect night. 

“Thursday, right?” Ben asks, not even looking up from his book. 

Leslie tries not to be too disappointed. “Yeah-”

He laughs, setting his book down. “I’m kidding. I know exactly what tomorrow is.”

She grins, relieved.“It’s the day you kissed me for the first time.”

Ben smirks. “It’s the anniversary of the day I did a lot of things to you for the first time.”

“Ben!” 

He takes her face into his hands, kissing her just like he did for the first time all those years ago. But then he moves, pushing her down on the bed and the kiss becomes something else. It’s no longer their first kiss, or even their last (a quick make out session against the dryer while was doing laundry), but every single kiss, wrapped into one.

It’s a rough kiss that promises forever in a small park. 

It’s his nose bumped hers when Ethel Beavers read Leslie’s declaration of love.

It’s early morning kisses and middle of the night make out sessions. 

It’s every New Years kiss.

It’s him gripping her hair when she said yes. 

It’s the soft kiss when they held their children in their arms for the first time. 

It’s almost too overwhelming so Leslie pulls back, needing a moment to take a breath. 

“You okay?” he asks, wiping her cheek. 

She looks into Ben's eyes, seeing the warmth and love in them. Tomorrow might be the anniversary of their first kiss, but it’s also the next day of their lives together. 

She smiles, watching as the worry leaves his face. "I’m perfect.”


	72. Stumbling backward

“Why don’t you ask Shauna to get dressed and I’ll apologize to her as well.”

“Oh, well I think she’s in the shower-”

Leslie stumbles back, unable to see past the blurring in her eyes. She’d asked just to see if she was there, but she thought he was going to say she wasn’t there.

She needed him to say Shauna wasn’t there. 

She trips, falls backwards. It feels appropriate. 

A hand- his hand- grabs her, he says her name, but Leslie shakes her head, brushes his hand away when she finds her balance.

All she can think now is how Ben touched Shauna with those hands. Those same hands that used to touch her. 

Hands she dreamed would be the last to ever touch her. 

“I’m sorry.” Leslie closes her eyes. “I hope you’re happy you deserve to be happy I’m sorry-” she can’t get her key into her car door-”you’ll have beautiful babies-” the door finally opens and she turns around, surprised he’s still there, watching her. 

He says something else but she slips in her car, closing the door as quickly as she can, pretending not to hear.


	73. the cat adoption

Henry’s changing Georgia’s diaper when his phone rings and Ben’s name appears on the screen. “It’s uncle Ben,” Henry tells Georgia, picking her up while he answers the phone “Heya, Benji.”

“I need your help.”

The last time Ben called Henry asking for help, he had bankrupted Partridge and he needed to hide out in his dorm for a month. Henry hopes it’s nothing like that.

“Okay,” Henry says, placing Georgia in her activity chair. She instantly spins the globe, laughing when it stops. Henry glances down and nods. Apparently they’re going to Italy. “What happened?”

“I may have accidentally- sort of- adopted five cats.”

Henry’s laugh rivals Georgia’s. “How?”

“Leslie,” Ben says and Henry knows his running his hand over his face. “She suggested we adopted a cat-”

Henry sits on the couch. Georgia’s attention is now on the purple elephant.

“You hate cats.”

“Yeah, well I love her,” Ben says, as if he’s reminding himself of this fact. “And so we went and the next thing I know-”

“Five cats,” Henry finishes.

“I love them all so much, I can’t decide,” Ben says, making his voice slightly higher.

Henry’s laughter makes Georgia stop hitting the buttons that make music.”Your uncle Ben is being silly, Georgie Porgie.”

“I can’t believe this,” Ben says, “I can’t tell her we can’t keep them.”

“Sure you can. You’re an asshole. Remember that time you broke up with Holly Green in front of the whole school?”

“Holly said U2 was overrated,” Ben says, growling, “I had no choice. And I mean I can’t. I tried this morning. I said so about these cats and she said i know, aren’t they the best and then she kissed me and well.”

“Yeah. I know how that is,” Henry replies, looking at Georgia. “Women, man. They start kissing you and the next you know…babies and cats.”

“The watched, dude. I can’t have sex while cats watch me.”

Georgia whimpers at that moment. “I gotta go,” he says, knowing it’s only seconds before she starts wailing. “Let me know if you need a place to hide when Leslie tries to kill you for making you give back her cats.” He’s eight percent sure Carolina will allow it.

Ben sighs. “Yeah, Thanks. Bye Henry.”

“Bye, Benji.” Henry throws his phone on the couch and takes Georgia into the kitchen in search of food.


	74. collide

First there’s the sound of screeching tires and then for two, maybe three seconds, the world is completely quiet.

And then he’s spinning, both before the other car’s front end hits the corner of his Subaru and after.

He’s just thankful there are no other cars around.

Eventually, the spinning stops and his hearing returns.

It takes him a moment, but he realizes he’s okay. Nothing’s bleeding or broken.

He knows he should wait for help to arrive, but he pushes the airbag away and steps out.

A woman, not even five two, is yelling at him, only he can’t hear what she’s saying.

Maybe his hearing isn’t back yet.

She gets closer though, and he realizes she’s asking if he’s okay, and there’s something about a raccoon and he doesn’t understand any of it but he nods and says, “I’m fine.”

She sighs and says, “I am so sorry.”

There’s a trickle of blood coming from her forehead. “You’re bleeding.”

“What?” He points and she reaches up to touch. “Oh,” she says looking at her fingers. “So I am. Well, we need to exchange information and call the police and-”

There’s no reason to kiss her. He shouldn’t. He doesn’t know her name. But that doesn’t stop him from cupping her face and kissing her as if he’s been kissing her for years.

She doesn’t push him away like she should.

She does, however, look confused when he pulls back.

“You looked like you could use a kiss.” Or maybe he needed it. He’s not really sure of anything at the moment. “I’m sorry I shouldn’t have done that-”

“I’m Leslie Knope.”

“Ben Wyatt and again, I’m really sorry.”

This time, she’s the one who kisses him.


	75. close

She wakes to the smell of pancakes and coffee. It takes some maneuvering to get out of bed but after putting on her robe and slippers, Leslie goes out to find Ben in the kitchen, singing some ridiculous song about breakfast she’ll have to record later.

In the meantime she wraps her arms around his waist and rests her forehead on the center of his back. There’s a gap though, caused by her giant belly that means she can’t bet as close as she likes.

“You’re up early.”

“Couldn’t sleep,” he says, his hand overlapping hers. He says nothing else, and really she doesn’t need him to.

Today they’re going to go from being two people to five. And while she can’t wait to meet them, a part of her wants to just take a breath and enjoy this quiet moment with her husband

Leslie knows Ben needs it too.

She kisses his back and pulls away. “Okay, you know I’m not supposed to eat before.”

Ben turns, smirking. “Oh, these aren’t for you. They’re for me so I don’t faint.”

She smiles, soft and confident as he wraps his arms around her.

“You’re going to be just great, Ben Wyatt.”

“So are you, Leslie Knope.”


	76. Roll the Dice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: with no space left between us 
> 
> Fancy Party fluff

“Run,” she says, grabbing his hand, leading Ben away. Away from Orin, away from the party, from the house, from everything that isn’t them.

They end up a block away, close enough that Leslie can still hear the music, but far enough that she feels like she can catch her breath. Except then she looks at Ben, with his deep brownie eyes and messed up hair and the mouth she’s been dreaming about a lot the last few weeks and she loses her breath again.

“Hi,” she says, realizing she’s still holding his hand. She’s thought a lot about them too, how big they are, how she seems to fit in them perfectly. He doesn’t seem to mind though, so she doesn’t let go.

“Hi.” Ben’s smile is more of a smirk, a sexy, terrible smirk, like he knows exactly what she’s thinking.

“I’m glad you’re staying,” Leslie says, because it has the benefit of being true. It’s not what she wants to say. She wants to say let’s go to my house, but it’s too soon for that.

“Yeah?” He’s still smirking, but this time he moves a piece of her hair from her face. “Me too.”

Her heart won’t stop racing. And it’s not because she just ran a block or because she’s nervous about Andy and April being married. It’s because of Ben. Ben who makes her soup when she’s sick and gets her extra cotton candy machines and listens to her and helps her carry out her vision. Ben who knows exactly what to say to make her blush. Ben who’s staying in Pawnee.

“Roll the dice, Leslie.”

“What was that?” he asks.

“Something Ron said to me,” Leslie answers, touching Ben’s sweater. Somehow they’ve ended up even closer, their chests nearly touching.

“We were talking about how crazy it is Andy and April are to get married so soon and he said that when you meet someone, all you can do is roll the dice and so I was thinking you and I- we could talk? About this thing between us?”

Ben’s smile changes. It’s no longer a smirk, but a genuine smile. It’s soft and his eyes are warm. Leslie’s pretty sure it’s all for her. “Okay.”

“Okay,” Leslie repeats, gathering her courage. “I think I-”

She’s about to say I think we should get something to eat and talk about us when he kisses her. It’s far better than her dreams or expectations. It’s the kind of kiss she feels in her toes. And when Ben pulls back, eyes searching hers to make sure she’s okay, all she wants is to kiss him again.

So she does. Again and again until their lip are sore and it’s clear that if they kiss one more time, clothes will start coming off.

“We should head back,” he says, sounding rather breathless. “Too uh, congratulate April and Andy.”

”Oh yeah. Of course.” Leslie agrees as Ben takes her hand this time. “We should definitely go back and congratulate them.”

“And then we’ll go to JJ’s and talk,” he says, proving once again how much he knows her.

“Or we could go to my house.” It comes out in a nervous rush, and a part of her wants to know what the hell she’s thinking, inviting him over so soon, but it’s not too soon. Not really.

Ben just smiles though. “We’ll get JJ’s to go and then go to your house and talk.”

Leslie’s pretty sure there won’t be any talking. She’s also sure she doesn’t really mind.


	77. Chapter 77

“This doesn’t make us friends, you know.”

Leslie stared at Ben, her eyes brows raised as if she was going to challenge him, but all she did was snarl and say, “Shut up and just kiss me already.”

So he did. On her mother’s couch until both of their lips were numb. He kept his hands on her waist, afraid to go any higher- or lower. Not because he didn’t want to, but because he wasn’t sure exactly what the protocol was for making out with a girl you hate.

She did have really nice breasts though. And maybe if they did this again- not that it would ever happen again- he would definitely touch them.

“My mom will be home soon, you can stay if you want.”

This time it was Ben who raised his eyebrows. “Dinner? Really, Knope?”

She shrugged. “Your loss. We’re having chimichangas. I believe you called them the calzones of Mexican cuisine?”

God, they did sound good. Way better than the bowl of Cheerios waiting for him because his mom was making tofu surprise. “I’ll pass, thanks.”

Leslie shrugged again. Like she didn’t care one way or another if he stayed for dinner or not. But then Ben saw just a hint of relief on her face. She didn’t want him to stay for dinner. She wanted him out of her house so she could call Ann and tell her how she, “Made out with the enemy.”

As if she wasn't the one who kissed him first. As if he wanted to be at her house doing this stupid science project with her. As if he specifically asked Mr. Tyson if he could work with Leslie because he admired her so much. 

Okay, yeah he did do that. It was worth it too, just to see her nose scrunch and that soft growl come out of her pink lips. But he hadn't intended on making out with her. That ws on her. Not him. She's the one who said, "I can't think straight, let's make out." 

“You know what?” Ben said, dropping his coat onto the couch. “I think I will stay for dinner.”

“Oh.” Then-” Great! I’ll uh, be right back.”

Ben smirked, knowing full well she was panicking and sat down on the couch, the same one they just made out on- and crossed his feet on the coffee table. “Cool. Take your time.”

He laughed as she ran away. Torturing Leslie Knope was his favorite hobby.


	78. Chapter 78

Just please be my best friend right now, not the guy I just confessed my love to.”

There’s a silence that follows, thick and heavy like a blanket that Leslie wishes she could push off while Ben stares at her, his face blank. 

“Please?” she adds, hopeful that he’ll just say sure no problem and they’ll order a pizza and everything will be fine. They’ll forget her confession ever happened. 

Ben finally responds, eyes blinking rapidly like he’s just rebooted. If this were any other time she would tease him about being a robot but instead says nothing. “I can’t do that,” he says, breaking her heart completely. 

“Oh.” She turns to leave, wishing the earth would just swallow her whole already but then his hand is on her shoulder, stopping her. He says nothing though,but his fingers push into her skin, making her wait. When he still doesn’t speak, she does. 

“I’m sorry. I never should have said anything.” She can feel the spiral begin, like a snake twisting inside her stomach, rising up to strike. But there’s nothing she can do to stop it. So it spills out, all the reasons why she’s stupid for saying she’s in love with him. They go to different colleges in different states, she just got dumped, he has a girlfriend, she’s not his type anyway, their friendship is more important. 

All the while Ben says her name, his voice sounding more broken, more frustrated with every turn until finally he shouts it, stopping her. He turns her, rough and fast that she barely has time to complain before his tongue is in her mouth, his fingers tight in her hair. 

It’s over really before it even begins. He pulls back, eyes nearly pitch black as he stares into hers, his hands cupping her face. He’s always been taller than her but in this moment she can really feel the six inches that separate them. 

“You are my type.” He kisses her forehead. 

“But-”

“And I broke up with Lisa a month ago,” Ben continues, wiping a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “I love you.” 

Leslie’s legs nearly give out, but somehow she manages to stay up. It’s probably Ben’s doing. 

“Oh. But school-” 

He kisses her again, softer and more focused this time, like he’s answering every question, every doubt she has the only way he knows how. 

Leslie melts against him, allows herself to feel his body against hers, the ends of his hair between her fingers. And when Ben picks her up and takes her into his room, removing off her clothes with trembling hands, she allows herself to enjoy that too.


	79. Chapter 79

“Are you growling at me?”

“No,” Leslie says, but her arms are still crossed over her chest, her nose still crinkled. Ben has to look away before he starts to think she’s adorable. 

He has to be professional. Leslie Knope is not adorable. She is a stubborn pain in the ass sent by Lucifer himself to make his life more difficult. 

“I can’t change your grade, Ms. Knope. And before you ask, no, you may no do extra credit, and no, an arrangement will not be worked out.” 

She grows again, this time louder, and for a minute Ben wonders if he should move out of the way before she lunges at him. 

“You got the grade you deserved.”

“I deserved an A, professor.”

Ben leans back in his chair. “You really think that don’t you?” 

“Yes,” she says, straightening her shoulders. “My paper was well researched, it was clear and concise-” 

“And entirely way too long.”

This seems to startle her. “Wait. You gave me a lower grade because I went over the word count?” 

“I did,” Ben says, standing from his desk to go get a book off his shelf, barely brushing against her as he walks past. She smells like sugar. She always smells like sugar. 

“The instructions clearly stated that two thousand words was the maximum, not the minimum, and you went over by six hundred and fifty.” 

“Well I thought-”

“So I docked you points. For not following instructions. Now, Ms. Knope, if you’ll excuse me I have a meeting with another student.”

“Fine, jerk.” It’s said under her breath like she doesn’t want him to hear. 

“That’s Professor Jerk, Ms. Knope.” 

Leslie screams before storming out. Ben closes his door behind her and sits down at his desk and closes his eyes for a minute before opening his book. 

She’s not adorable. Not adorable at all.


	80. Chapter 80

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> continuation of the last chapter

On the day of the final, Leslie shows up in sweats, carrying a large thermos with a tea label hanging out. She sits in her usual seat in the front row and takes out a package of tissue paper to blow her nose. 

“Sorry,” she says, only it sounds more like ‘soddy’, “It’s my allergies.” 

Ben can tell from the looks on the other student’s faces they believe Leslie’s only suffering from allergies as much as he does, which is to say, not at all. But still, most are more concerned with their final exam than whether or not Leslie is going to sneeze all over them. 

But she’s there, with her blue book and her pens and growing pile of tissues. He’s seen students skip class because of a hangover. But not Leslie. She’s there, rain or shine, sickness and in health.

“Okay, listen up,” Ben says, noticing Leslie is slightly less alert than usual. “This is your test. Please read the instructions carefully. When you get to the essay portion, please write it in your blue book, if you do not have one, I have some up here you may purchase for one twenty five.”

“But they’re only ninety nine cents at the store,” a student complains as they pass the test around. From the corner of his eye, Ben notices Leslie stare at the test with a dazed expression. 

“You’re right, Marcus,” Ben says, “Make that one fifty.” 

There’s a sea of groans, including one from Leslie but Ben has a feeling it’s unrelated to his increasing the price for the blue books. 

“You have two hours to finish,” he says, looking around the room as various students search their bags and purses for change. “When you finish, make sure your name is on both the test and your essay, come up here, staple your test to the front page of the blue book and put it on the table. After that you may leave. Any questions?”

A few hands raise and Ben sighs. For the next two minutes he answers everything from is purple ink okay (no) to can they use their books (also no.) 

For the next two hours Ben grades the tests from his other class, thanks each student and wishes them a good summer and keeps an eye on Leslie. She works quickly, speeding through the multiple choice and the true or false portions, but then halfway through she stops to take a drink of her tea and proceeds to stare at the wall behind Ben for several minutes. 

Her eyes shut and she jerks awake. Then, she picks up her pen and resumes the test. 

At an hour and twenty minutes, most of the students are gone except for a handful, including Leslie, who could be writing about rainbows for all Ben knows. 

When she finishes, Ben decides to take pity on her and goes to take the test from her. “Let me,” he says, his hand brushing hers. “Wow. You’re hot.” 

“Thank you,” she says with a sly smile. “You are too.” 

The other students snicker and Ben swallows. “Uhhhh, what I mean is you have a fever and should go to a doctor.” 

“It’s fine,” she says, standing up, only to reach out and grab his shoulders, only to remove them and begin putting her things away. He misses her hands on him. Her small, clammy hands. Dear god he’s pathetic. “It’s allergies. I promise. And my friend gave me something this morning that tasted like grape, but not the artificial grape, like real grape. Do you know it?” she asks all this as she throws the tissues away.

“I can’t say I do,” Ben says. wondering if she should even be driving considering how she's walking as if the room has tilted on its axis. “And in any case, I recommend you go home and get some sleep.” 

“You go home and you sleep.” 

“I wish I could,” Ben says, “Now go, and I’ll see you next semester.” 

“Not if I see you first, Professor cute butt.”

Again, more snickers as Leslie shoots him a wink and walks out of the class room. 

“You have twenty minutes,” he reminds the rest of the class as he takes Leslie’s test and puts it with the others. Out of curiosity, he skims through it. 

Every answer is correct. 

Even more curious, Ben opens her blue book and reads her essay. He expects the worst, but there’s no talk of his butt or how much of an ass he is or waffles or ponies or anything like that, just a well thought out essay about the Panic of 1819 and it’s lasting consequences. He doesn’t have time to read it thoroughly but he’s pretty sure it’s one of the better answers he’ll read. 

He’s also pretty sure he’s doomed.


	81. A Completely Average Day

“Are you really sure you don’t want a party this year?” Leslie asks as she packs the kids lunch boxes. 

Ben nods as he pours himself one more cup of coffee. “I’m sure. With everything happening in Congress right now, I just want a nice calm day with you and the kids. I don’t think I could stomach a party, to be honest. I’m exhausted. I need a completely average day.”

Leslie wrapped her arms around his neck. “Look at you. Fighting the good fight. You still want a present, though, right? and cake?”

Ben laughed. “I definitely will want cake. And I know better than to tell you not to get me anything.”

“You better,” she says as her lips met his. Their impromptu make out sessions interrupted though by three eight year olds running down the stairs, all yelling that they need something. 

And like that, talk about birthdays ends. And for the next few days, it’s barely mentioned again apart from Leslie mentioning in passing she needs to take the kids shopping for his presents. 

“I could use some more socks.”

“What is it with you and socks?” Leslie asks. 

“Oh, maybe it’s because mine keep getting stolen by some sock stealing halfling?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Leslie replied, even though at that moment her feet were covered in a pair of his socks. 

But they both knew she was going to do a lot more than get him a pair of socks. In fact, if he wanted more he would probably have to go to Target and get them himself. 

On the day of his birthday, he’s woken up early by a kiss monster wearing red lace, she makes him blueberry pancakes for breakfast and he gets hugs from the kids. Really it’s like any other day. He gets a card at work from his staff and a couple of the older reps take him out to lunch. 

Again, it’s a pretty normal day. 

But somehow, it’s not. And by the time he goes home, he’s pretty sure he’s going to walk in on everyone he knows yelling, “Surprise!” 

He doesn’t though. He walks in on the kids doing their homework. Westley looks up and says, “Mom had an emergency parks thing. She said she’ll be back in time for dinner though.”

“Oh.” He doesn’t know why but he’s a little disappointed. But then the disappointed fades into suspicion, so he calls her. 

“I’m so sorry, honey.” He hears the commotion behind her, a loud voice yelling, “Fuck, how could this have happened?”

“It’s okay,” Ben says, “Kick it in the ass.”

“I will,” she promises. Then she tells him she loves him and hangs up. 

He falls on the bed. He got his wish. It’s a completely average day. 

She comes home just as Ben’s finishing making dinner. The only thing set out was some ground beef, so he made tacos. 

“I’m sorry you had to make dinner,” she says as she hugs him from behind. 

“It’s okay.”

He can feel her shake though. Turing around, he sees her eyes are too bright. “What’s wrong?”

“I wasn’t able to go pick up your present.”

“It’s okay,” Ben says. “You’re the only present I need.”

During dinner, the kids argue over the sour cream and Ben has to threaten early bed time to get the boys to stop yelling at each other, but the tacos are delicious and really, it’s quite perfect. 

And after, Leslie and the kids do the dishes while Ben flips between game four of the series and the Cheers reboot. 

He’s surprised when they come out singing “Happy Birthday,” a cake in Leslie’s hands. 

“You didn’t think i was going to let your birthday go by without cake, did you?” Leslie asks after he blows out the candles. 

“No,” he says, “I really didn’t. (And also he saw the cake while making dinner so) 

Then he says, “I love you,” to them and gives them all a kiss and they eat a piece of cake each. After that, he opens the barely wrapped gifts from the kids (no socks) and they send the kids upstairs to take their baths and get ready for bed. 

And after that, he and Leslie collapse on the couch, their days and age and sugar coursing through their bodies. 

“I’m going to get your present first thing tomorrow,” she promises. 

“I can’t wait,” he says, and really he can’t. He loves the R2D2 coffee mug and the robot tie clip and the homemade card that’s mostly just glitter. He’s pretty sure he’s going to be covered in glitter until the day he dies. 

“Ugh. I just realized I’m going to be fifty in a couple years.”

“Mmm,” Leslie says. 

“You’re thinking about me with grey hair now, aren’t you?”

Leslie cackles. “You know, you’ve got some already.”

He kisses her, tasting chocolate cake. They slowly fall down on the couch, making out slow and sure like they did when they were young and weren’t constantly interrupted. 

But of course they’re interrupted. Not by the kids though, but by the doorbell. 

“Can you get that?” she asks. He’s already peeling himself off her. It’s harder now, not only because she’s pretty and smells good, but because he’s older and his body does not move as fast as it used to. 

Still, he straightens out his clothes and walks to the front door, opening it.

“Hi,” the man says, “I hope I have the right house. Are you congressman Ben Wyatt?”

Ben slowly nods, really unable to do anything else. He’s either having a stroke or “You’re Mark Hamill.” 

Mark Hamill grins. “Yeah. You’re Ben. I’m sorry I’m late.”

This was unbelievable. He turns around to see Leslie grinning so big back at him, furiously taking pictures. He should have known she was up to something. There was no way she wasn’t going to give him the most amazing present in the world. And this was, more amazing than anything he could have ever dreamed. Later, he will kiss her so hard. 

“How?” he asks them, his hands shaking so hard he can’t stop it. “This is-” “How, why?” What?” he can’t form a sentence in his head, let alone speak one. 

“It’s a long story,” says Mr. Hamill. “I just came by to wish you a Happy Birthday.”

“Wow. This is-” 

“Ben?” “Ben?” “I’m so sorry.”

He blinks his eyes open. He’s on the floor, Leslie hovering over him. Crouched beside him on his other side is Mark, furiously apologizing to Leslie. 

He just fainted in front of Mark Hamill. 

Leslie takes another picture. 

“I’m okay,” he says as he slowly gets up. And he is. Now that he’s gotten over the shock, he’s fine. Better than really, other than the general hurt his body feels and the humiliation of being a grown man who fainted in front of his hero. 

“Would you like a piece of cake?” 

Mark laughs. “You know what, I’d love one.”


	82. Chapter 82

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amensia fic #1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is an old fic that somehow didn't get moved to a03? or maybe it did and i'm just an idiot who can't find it. That's entirely possible.

“What are you doing here?" 

"What?” Ben asks as Leslie shakes his body. 

“What are you doing here?" 

"Sleeping,” he says, rolling over. “You sleep too." 

She just shakes him again. "Look, I don’t know if this is some kind of joke, but you need to wake up and tell me what you’re doing in my bedroom.”

It’s not so much the question itself, but rather Leslie’s tone that wakes Ben up. He turns, blinking as he sits up. “Leslie,” he says, taking her hands, only she snaps them away. 

“Don’t touch me." 

It feels like she’s kicked him in the stomach. "I’m sorry.”

“Just, tell me what you’re doing here.” There’s a seconds pause before she adds, “please." 

Ben sighs, pretty sure he knows what’s going on, if for no other reason than Ann likes to tell them about the plots of all those Lifetime movies she watches. "I knew you had a concussion. I told you to go to the hospital.”

“What?”

He sighs again. “I’m going to call Ann." 

It takes Ann ten minutes to get to their house. By now both Ben and Leslie are dressed and sitting in their living room. Or rather, Ben is sitting and Leslie is walking around, looking at everything. 

"It’s my stuff, but there’s somethings here that I don’t recognize.But I haven’t moved.”

“Yes, you did,” Ben says, only for it to be ignored as the doorbell rings and Leslie cheers for Ann as she opens the front door. 

“You have to help me Ann, Mean Ben is here and he was sleeping next to me and I don’t remember sleeping with him and also why am I in this house and why is most of my stuff here and where are the rest of my things?”

Ann looks over at Ben. “Oh boy.”

Ben exhales. “Yeah.”

“Okay,” she says, gripping Leslie’s shoulders. “Let’s sit down.”

“I don’t want to sit down. I want someone to tell me why I woke up next to him.” Leslie shoots a glare in Ben’s direction. 

“Maybe you should go,” Ann says to him. 

It’s the last thing Ben wants to do, but then Ann mouths, “please.” and all he can do is nod. As he’s leaving, he turns around to say I love you to Leslie, but stops himself. 

If he said I love you and she didn’t say it back, he wouldn’t be able to take it. So he grabs his keys and his wallet and takes off. 

For the next hour, Ben wanders through Pawnee, holding his gut as he tries to stop the panic attack that’s threading itself into Ben’s mind. 

He throws up in a rose bush. 

He tries to look on the bright side. At least she knew who he was. 

It’s by luck that he ends up at JJ’s when Ann finally calls and says it’s safe to return. 

“Okay,” he says, then he heads inside. 

When he comes back, the waffles are cold, but he hopes Leslie won’t mind too much. The house is quiet when he comes in, so quiet that he worries that Leslie might have left him. But as he walks into the living room, he sees her, curled up on the couch, looking through one of her scrapbooks with a stack next to her. 

“I bought you waffles.”

“Ann says you’re my fiance." 

"They’re probably cold.”

“It’s okay." 

"I’ll warm them up for you,” he says, going into the kitchen before she or Ann can stop him. As he’s taking them out of the Styrofoam containers to put on a plate, Ann taps him on his shoulder. 

He jumps. 

“Sorry.”

“How is she?”

“Well, her vitals are fine. I wanted to take her to county but she refuses.”

Ben nods, presses start on the microwave.

“It’s not her I’m worried about though,” Ann says. “How do you feel?”

“I’m fine.”

“Ben.”

Ben spins around, stepping into Ann’s personal space. “the woman I love, the woman I’m going to marry in three months, doesn’t fucking remember me and you’re asking how I feel?" 

"She remembers you. She just remembers a past you.”

“How is that better?”

“Go sit down, I’ll take care of this,” Ann says, giving Ben her patented don’t test me look. 

He sits in the chair. He doesn’t look at Leslie, even though all he wants to do is throw all those scrapbooks on the floor and pull her into his lap and kiss her until she at least likes him. 

Even if she never remembers the last four years, he at least wants her to like him. 

“Ben?”

He looks up, tries to keep his voice in check. “Yeah?”

“What did you mean when you said I had a concussion?”

“You bumped your head.”

“How?”

Ben glances into the kitchen, hoping that Ann isn’t listening, but that hope is quickly dashed but her looking right back at him. So he answers, as quickly as possible, intentionally mumbling.

“What?”

“Ben, answer the question.”

“We were having sex against the wall and you bumped your head.”

“Oh,” Leslie says, sounding calmer than Ben expected her to be. “Was it good?”

“It was great,” Ben answers. “I mean, until you bumped your head.”

“You two are going to be the death of me,” Ann says, bringing Leslie her waffles. 

“Thanks for these,” she says, digging in. 

“You’re welcome. At least I didn’t try to make you soup, right?" 

"What?”

Ben shakes his head. “I guess you don’t remember that. Um, what do you remember?”

“I remember the children’s concert and coming home. Ann says we live in this house now. I like it.”

“You picked it out.”

“That explains why I like it,” she says, pausing to eat. “Do you like it?”

“I love it." 

She nods. "If it helps, I think you’re cute.”

“Thanks.”

“No, I mean it. I know future or present or real or whatever you want to call it me loves you, at least that’s what these scrapbooks seem to imply, but I,” she points to herself with a piece of waffle, “think you’re cute. A jerk, but cute.”

Ben smiles, unable to speak. It’s not exactly what he wants to hear, but it’ll do for now. 

***

It takes a week for Leslie’s memory to come back. There’s an MRI which for some reason seems to weird Leslie out, there’s Dr. Harris claiming the affects are probably just temporary and not to worry, there’s Ann who makes Ben take Paxil when he worries that Leslie might not remember, or worse, not fall in love with him again. 

But then one night he’s sleeping on the couch when Leslie comes and drapes herself over his chest and threads their fingers together. “Ben?”

“Yeah?” He’s only partially awake, but he’s aware enough to appreciate the moment. 

“I remember." 

A tsunami sized wave of relief washes over Ben. "Oh thank god.”

“I even remember not remembering. Isn’t that weird?”

He chuckles. “Probably.”

“And I hurt you.”

“You didn’t mean to,” he says, grateful to be able to touch her again as he traces her name into her back. 

“But you know that worst part?” she asks. 

“What’s that?”

“We didn’t make out for a whole week. and I think we should start-”

Ben crushes his lips to hers, ready to make up for lost time.


	83. i am ben

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> amnesia fic #2

“You’re awake.”

Ben’s head is throbbing as he opens his eyes. The room is bright and unfamiliar, as is the soft voice coming from his left. It takes him a minute to realize he’s in a hospital, that he’s hooked up to various monitors. He looks over and sees a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes sitting in the chair next to him. She’s pretty, but she looks like she’s almost forty.

He wonders if she’s a friend of his mom.

“Where are my parents?”

“They’re at home,” she says with a tiny smile. “Your mom is on her way though.”

“Okay.”

“Do you want something to drink? There’s some water.”

“Sure,” he says, and he watches as she she gets up slowly and walks over to where the pitcher is. She looks pregnant. He sits up and drinks it slowly. “Have we met?”

“Yeah.” She takes the cup from him and he can see she’s wearing a wedding ring. “Do you not remember?”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she says, after taking a deep breath. “I’m going to tell them you’re awake.”

He nods and watches her leave.

He wakes up hearing hushed voices.

“I’m more worried that every time he wakes up he doesn’t remember.” It’s a woman’s voice. She sounds worried.

“Short term memory loss is pretty common, it should decrease as the swelling goes down.” A man. Probably a doctor.

“What if it doesn’t? What if he’s this way forever? I’ve seen 50 First Dates..”

“Leslie.” Another woman. “It’s going to be okay.”

“You don’t know that,” the first woman snaps. There’s a beat and it takes Ben a moment to realize he’s alone again.

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Going outside to check the mail.”

“And then?”

Ben shrugs. “I don’t know. I think someone probably threw a rock at my head? My head really hurts by the way, can I have some more morphine?”

“Just push that button.”

Ben pushes the button and starts to feel relief. “So um, I never got your name.”

“I’m Ann. She’s Leslie.”

He looks over at the blonde. She’s looking out the window, silent. He doesn’t know why, but he wants to go over to her.

“What year is it?” Ann asks.

“1993.”

A gross sounding sob escapes from Leslie. “Are you okay, Leslie?”

She doesn’t answer him. She just turns and walks out. He looks at Ann, feeling helpless.

“Did I do something wrong?”

Ann shakes her head. “No.”

He’s pretty sure she’s lying.

“Are my parents coming?”

“Your mom is coming. She’ll be here soon.” She has her hands on her pregnant belly. 

“Are you a doctor?”

The woman sighs. “No. I’m…” she shakes her head. “I’m going to find someone.”

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Checking the mail?”

“What year is it?”

“1993.”

“What’s your name?”

“Leslie.”

“I’m Ben.”

“Are my parents coming?”

“Your mom is on her way.”

There’s a good looking guy sobbing next to him. “Uh, hey?”

The man gives him a small smile. “I’m sorry.” He leaves.

Ben falls back asleep. 

“I’m a stranger, Ann! I might as well not even be here.”

Ben watches the woman leave. He’s never met her before but there’s something about her that makes him want to protect her. “You should go,” he tells the woman he guesses is Ann.

“You need to stop this.”

He doesn’t recognize the young woman standing at his bed. Behind her is a guy he also doesn’t recognize. His hand is on her shoulder. “Look, I’m sorry, I made a mistake, I wanted to do something for this town-“

“I’m not talking about stupid ice town. I’m talking about Leslie. You know, Leslie? Your wife?”

Ben chokes on a laugh. This is a prank right? Or she’s got the wrong person. “I don’t know anyone named Leslie. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, let’s go,” the man says, holding the girl back, “we’re sorry, Ben, we hope you feel better.”

“I’m worried that his short term memory hasn’t returned.”

“No shit, Doc.”

“Hi, sweetie.”

“Mom?” She looks different. Older.

“I’m sorry, Benji,” she says, her hands clasping his. “Leslie and Ann told me what happened.”

He doesn’t know who Leslie and Ann are, but he finds himself crying. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Ben, you just need to get better.”

“Do I know you?”

“What?”

“I feel like I know you. But I don’t. It’s weird, you know?”

She doesn’t reply.

“Cindy?”

“Sorry, no. I’m Leslie.”

He looks over at the blonde woman sitting next to him. “Oh. sorry. I thought you were my ex girlfriend.” 

He should have known she wouldn’t come.

“No. I didn’t call her by the way. Your mom is outside. Do you want me to get her?”

“Yes, please.”

“I keep dreaming,” he tells his mom, “about this woman. but I don’t know her.”

“What does she look like?”

“She’s short, with blonde hair and blue eyes and a cute nose. She’s beautiful, but she’s your age. I think she’s pregnant? She’s sad though and I know it’s my fault but I don’t know what to do about it.”

His mom wipes her eyes. “Oh, Ben.”

“I love you and I like you.”

“What?”

The woman gasps. “I’m sorry. I thought you were asleep. I’ll go get your mom-“

“No,” he reaches out and grabs her hand. “Say that again.”

She swallows, takes a breath. “I love you and I like you.”

He doesn’t know why, but hearing those words, from that voice, makes his heart feel like it’s exploding, in a good way. “Again.”

She smiles. “I love you and I like you.”

“Your friends put together this care package. It’s mostly hair care products, but this one smells pretty good.” His mom opens up a jar and puts it under his nose. It smells like mangoes.

Ben laughs. “Mom. I think they sent that to the wrong room. I don’t have any friends anymore.”

“Oh, Ben. That’s just not true.”

“Mom, everyone hates me.”

“No. Well, April might, but I think she’s just scared you won’t get better.”

He doesn’t ask who April is, even though he wants to know.

“I’m bored.”

The blonde woman, looks up from her book. “I have a deck of cards in my purse.”

“Okay.”

She starts taking things out on his bed. a wallet, a bag of candy, some granola bars, a little note book, loose change, a silver ring. His eyes fall on the ring and before she can reach for it, he grabs it.

“What’s this?”

“It’s-”-She takes a deep breath. “It’s your wedding ring.”

“What?”

Another deep breath. “Your ring. You’re married. To me. it’s 2014 and we’re married and I’m going to have triplets in a few months and you’re not even going to be there or remember and I hate you and I’m sorry and please forget I said that.” she hurries out, leaving her things, including the ring, behind.

He picks it up and puts it on the table beside his bed. It feels important, he doesn’t want to lose it. 

“I know you from somewhere. and you,” he says pointing to the brunette and the pregnant blonde. “we’re friends?”

“Yes,” says the brunette. “I’m Ann, this is Leslie.”

“She’s married.” He doesn’t know why knows that, just that he does. “And you’re kind of married but not really?”

“You got it.”

He doesn’t know why he knows that. “Huh.”

“What year is it?”

“1993,” Ben answers the doctor, but he’s not looking at him. He’s looking at the blonde woman at the window. “No, wait, that’s not right. Um, fuck it’s um, 2014?”

She turns around. “What?”

She’s possibly the most beautiful woman Ben’s ever seen. Way prettier than Cindy. “Yeah. It’s 2014. Is that right?”

“We should do another Catscan, but I think your swelling is going down, Mr. Wyatt.” The doctor leaves and Ben can tell the woman is thinking about leaving too.

“Stay,” he tells her.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she tells him.

“I love you and I like you?”

She looks up. “What?”

“I love you and I like you,” he repeats, staring into her eyes, “that’s our thing right? We say that?”

She laughs a little and nods. “We do.”

“What’s the last thing you remember?

“Checking- no hold, I was on a ladder, painting the nursery.”

“I feel naked.”

“Well, you are wearing a hospital gown.” He’s not sure how long he’s been in the hospital, but he knows a few things, like that it’s 2014 and the woman sitting next to him is named Leslie and that he’s very much in love with her.

“No, I mean, my hand. It feels naked. Where’s my ring?”

“Ann has it.”

“Go get it.”

“Okay.” She gives him a quick kiss that might be accidental on her part but confirms his feelings for her, and leaves.

“My name is Ben Wyatt, I’m thirty nine years old, I’m the city manager for Pawnee, Indiana. I’m married and have three children on the way.”


	84. ski lodge

Leslie’s sipping on her cocoa in front of the fire, trying to warm herself up from a a long day on the slopes when he sits down in the chair across from hers, flanked by a small Indian man in a suit who seems to be pleading with him. Leslie’s not entirely sure what the conversation is about, since the man’s friend has now resorted to high pitched wining, but from what Leslie gathers, both of them could stand to make a lot of money. 

There’s something really familiar about the man in the chair, but Leslie can’t quite place where she’s seen him before. 

He puts his face in his hands for a solid minute before looking up again. And for a fraction of a second, their eyes meet and Leslie’s skin finally feels warm again, but then he looks at his well dressed friend and says, “I don’t care, Tom. I just want to ski.”

“But it’s Nike, Ben! Nike!” 

“And yesterday it was Hanes and before that it was Mercedes.” 

“I still can’t believe you turned that down,” Tom says with a sigh. “I can’t believe I agreed to be your agent.” 

“Me neither,” Ben says, “Considering I never actually asked you.” 

“Well someone has to look out for you, Bento box.” Tom’s phone dings and he looks at it and sighs. “I have to go take this. Benny, I’m begging you don’t turn this one down.” 

He walks away and Leslie realizes she’s still staring at Ben. And it’s not because he’s good looking, which he is, but because she’s finally realized where she knows him from. 

“You’re Benji Wyatt.” 

He smiles back at her and her heart does a skip. “You can call me Ben.”

“I watched you win the gold medal. You were incredible.”

“Oh. Well...” He brushes his fingers through his hair. “Thank you.”

“Why don’t you want to do endorsements?” Leslie asks, curiously. 

Ben sighs. “I don’t know. Just nothing sounds right. Although I guess Tom was right I should have taken that Mercedes deal. I do need a new car.” 

“And think of all the free shoes you could get from Nike.”

“I know. And underwear.”

“And underwear,” Leslie agrees, now fully picturing Ben in nothing else. God, she bets they hug the contours of his butt so perfectly. “I’m Leslie by the way. Leslie Knope.”

He smiles. “It’s nice to meet you, Leslie Knope.”


	85. runaway groom

“It’s almost time if you want to step out.”

Ben nods and takes one last look in the mirror, just to make sure his teal cummerbund is straight and goes to the door. He notices Chris and Henry exchange glance, the same glances they’ve been exchanging ever since Ben told them he was getting married. 

He walks out to stand at the altar next to the priest who says his hellos. It’s probably Ben’s imagination but he swears he has the same expression as his two best men. 

He swallows and tries to smile at his mom and his sister who are sitting in the front row, but the hollow feeling inside his stomach won't let him. 

But then he sees her. She’s sitting three rows away, and he wonders why she’s sitting so far. He glances and looks for her date but she’s in between her mom and his cousin. They meet eyes and she gives him a thumbs up and that tight feeling in his stomach loosens. Not completely, but enough that he can make a face at her. 

She returns it and he chuckles. 

Steph turns around to see who he’s goofing around with. Then she sighs, stands up and walks over to him. 

“We need to talk.”

“Now?” Ben asks, “I’m kind of in the middle of-”

“Trust me, this can't wait.” 

Knowing he has no choice- not when his mother is also standing up- Ben swallows and apologizes to Father Clarence. 

“Take your time, son.”

Ben inhales and doesn’t exhale until they’re in the same room he started in at. He waits for Steph or his mother to say something, but instead they just tap their feet, as if waiting for someone. 

The doors open and there are Chris and Henry again, followed by their father who’s carrying a bottle of whiskey. 

“You know I hate whiskey.”

“You need it,” Steven says as he pours it into a shot glass and gives it to Ben. Ben drowns it, wanting nothing more than to spit it out but he just winces. 

“Okay that was disgusting," he says, wiping his mouth. "Now can I go get married?”

There’s that look again. He throws his hands up in defeat.“Okay fine. What is it?”

It’s Chris who puts his hands on Ben’s shoulders and says, “We love you, Ben Wyatt.”

“Thank you?”

“And we just want you to be happy. Because you are amazing and you deserve-” He has to pause to wipe his eyes. “Someone who is amazing-”

Henry pushes Chris out of the way. “What he’s trying to say is that we don’t think you should marry Cindy.”

Even though Ben’s pretty sure he knew that’s what they were going to say, it still feels like a punch to the gut. “And... you’re all in agreement?”

“Yeah,” Steph says. “Look I love Cindy. She’s smart and cool and-”

“Really hot,” Henry adds and Ben finds himself wondering if this isn't really about Henry's feelings for Cindy.

“But you’re not in love with her, Benji.” 

Ben’s glad there’s a chair underneath him when his legs give out. It’s one thing to have doubts, to wake up every morning and hope you’re not making a mistake, but he was hoping it was just nerves. 

“Fuck.” 

There’s silence and all Ben can do is laugh. “You know, it must be pretty bad if you two agree,” he says, pointing at his parents. 

There’s a knock on the door that Henry answers. And there she is, in her red dress, her blonde hair curling at her shoulders. She smiles at them and says, “I thought I would come see if everything’s alright. I think the guests are starting to get antsy.”

His family exchange looks, not the same look but incredibly similar- okay it is the same look- but Ben just asks if he can talk to Leslie alone and one by one, they leave and then it’s just them. 

She doesn't say anything, which is strange considering she's been yapping in his ear since they were kids. 

"I almost didn't come today."

“I don’t think I’m getting married today,” Ben says at the same time. There's a pause as they both take in what the other said.

“Oh.”

“I know. I’m an asshole. Why didn't you want to come?" He's pretty sure he knows, but he needs her to say it, just so he can't tell himself later it was just wishful thinking. 

She sighs and picks at a loose thread on her dress. "It's not that I didn't want to. You're the most important person in my life, and all I want is for you to be happy and if being with Cindy is what you want then I'm one hundred thousand percent for it but...I didn't know if I could. I'm sorry-" 

"Don't be." 

She takes a deep breath and looks up at the ceiling as she exhales.“What are you going to do now?” 

“I don’t know,” he admits. “I don’t suppose you want to run away with me?”

He wonders if she knows he’s only partly joking. That if she said yes, he would take her hand and run out of this church and never look back. 

Leslie smiles. “You know there’s nobody I’d rather run away with.” 

Ben knows she's thinking about the time they were in the 8th grade and he wanted to get away from his dad so he asked Leslie to run away with him. They ended up at JJ's, eating free waffles and fries until her mom picked them up. It was one of the best days of his life. 

He sighs and stands up and with her, accepting her hug. He breathes in the scent of her shampoo and makes a decision. Next time he stands in front of his friends and family and God, about to promise a lifetime of honor and devotion to someone, it’s going to be to Leslie Knope. 

“I have to go talk to Cindy.” She deserves to hear it from him. 

“Okay,” she says, her eyes shining. "See you later?" 

"You know it," he replies, and they do their secret handshake before she leaves. He stares at the door, hoping she'll come back in, but she doesn't. 

But it's okay. He has time. 


	86. birthday party

“Leslie it’s your turn to spin.” 

Leslie nods and reaches over to spin the ketchup bottle. It’s not her first boys and girls birthday party, and it’s not even the first to involve games like spin the bottle and truth or dare, but it is the first in which Ben Wyatt is there, sitting in the circle across from her. Just the thought that she could possibly kiss her crush is almost too much to handle. 

When she leans over to spin she’s pretty sure she sees his eyes flicker to her chest. 

It lands on Chris, who beams and stands up. She’s kissed Chris before during a previous game of spin the bottle and he’s very nice and cute so she doesn’t mind kissing him, but it’s still a bit disappointing. 

It’s even more disappointing when the next person spins and they land on Ben. And then at least four other people all get to kiss Ben. 

It just seems unfair that she’s pretty much the only girl there who hasn’t kissed Ben Wyatt. 

And then it’s his turn and when he spins, he makes eye contact with her. She can’t look away, not even as the bottle comes to a full stop. 

“Oh,” he says, “Would you look at that.” 

Leslie does, at the top of the bottle pointed right at her left knee, and exhales a breath she didn’t even know she was holding. 

He’s already there when she walks to the middle of the circle. She tries to tell herself it’s just a game, that the kiss won’t mean anything, (not to him anyway) but there’s something about the way he’s looking at her that makes it impossible to think. 

It’s even more impossible when he cups her face and leans down, his nose bumping hers as he tilts his head and- 

It’s fireworks. It’s lemonade on a hot day in July. It’s the leaves on trees coming back after a long winter. It’s a waffle sundae.

It’s over way too soon. 

She sits down in a daze and for the rest of the game she feels Ben’s eyes on her, never leaving even as she has to stand up to kiss Tom. 

Luckily the game ends after that, everyone bored and wanting to go make out with their chosen partners. Even Ann and Chris leave to find a place to be alone. 

Leslie stays where she is though. She hears Ben say something but the music’s suddenly too loud to understand. But she watches as he disappears to the kitchen. She takes some deep breaths, tries to calm her heart down, but then he’s back, holding two paper plates with pieces of cake on them. 

And it’s probably the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for her. Not that she has a lot of experience, but still. 

“Hey,” he sounds nervous. “You wanna go eat these outside?” 

She smiles and he smiles back as she takes her plate. Then, she follows him toward the back of the house, grabbing a cans of soda for them on the way. 

They sit on the steps of Wendy’s deck, their shoulders touching. She doesn’t even bother to try not to notice how good he smells. He smells like spring rain and she’s going to enjoy it. 

“The cake’s good.” 

“It’s okay,” she says, thinking it’s actually too dry. “I always make my own.”

“Yeah? Well in that case, my birthday is November 15th and I like chocolate.”

Leslie laughs as she takes a bite.“I’ll remember that.” 

They eat, talk about school and their mutual love of Batman and Model United Nations and American History. They talk about their favorite bands and movies and he tells her how he’s thinking about trying out for the baseball team next year. 

“I can’t wait to come see you play,” she says, thinking about him in those tight baseball pants. 

“Thanks,” he says, right before he kisses her again. And it’s just as good as the first kiss, only this time it tastes like vanilla frosting. 

“Oh,” she says when he pulls away. it doesn’t last long though, both of them reaching for each other at the same time. 

And that’s how they stay until it’s time to go home.


	87. exes meeting again after years apart

Leslie’s standing on a snowy street corner waiting to cross when she sees him walking toward her. For a minute she thinks it’s a mere trick of the mind, that it’s just someone who looks like Ben, but then the light turns green and the moment she steps off the sidewalk and he does the same, she’s forced to reconcile with the fact it really is him. 

There’s no hope that he doesn’t recognize her. Not when he’s staring at her like he’s seeing a ghost. 

“Leslie?” he asks as she passes him.

She puts on a smile and turns around. “Hi, Ben.” 

“Hi.” He sounds puzzled, not that she blames him. “Wow. Um, how are you-”

“I’m good,” she says, wishing her hands didn’t feel so cold or that he wasn’t so handsome and that she didn’t feel so awkward. 

But then someone honks their horn and he grabs her wrist and pulls her over to the sidewalk. “Sorry,” he shouts to the driver before turning to her, his fingers still wrapped around her wrist as if he’s forgotten they’re there. “What brings you to the city?”

“Visiting.”

“Cool,” he says. “I live here.” 

“Cool.” The leather of his gloves are surprisingly warm. So are his eyes. But then again, that’s not surprising at all. 

“Look at you,” he says, brushing snow off her coat. “You’re shivering.”

“Not all of us are born with hockey sticks in our hands, Mr. Wyatt.”

“Ben laughs and god it’s been so long since she heard that sound she starts laughing too. But then he stops and stares intently at her, like he’s working out a equation in his mind. 

“Are you busy?” he asks. “I know a coffee shop that’s open this time of night if you want to grab a cup. They’ve got good pastries.”

Leslie smiles. She imagines them sitting in the coffee shop, eating pastries and talking about their lives and reconnecting. And maybe they fall back in love, maybe they don’t, but at least she’ll get a chocolate croissant out of it and the chance to say she saw him again. What more could she ask for? 

“Sure.”


End file.
